Understanding
by Oceanbreeze7
Summary: A normal day in the Avenger's mansion, excepting the fact that security has gotten somewhat...locked. Tony trapped in the basement unknowingly, while we're all up here, sitting on couches watching a movie that appeared out of literally nowhere- wait, why is Tony in a cave? When did this get on film?- Avengers minus Tony watch IRON MAN
1. Chapter 1

**Well- i was looking all throughout this site but it seems that this hasn't been created yet.**

**Let me tell you- copying down word for word the entire movie is a pain, expecially when you are watching it live on TV- let me tell you, i don't think my fingers have ever typed faster.**

**I hope you enjoy, but for a warning, i'm bad with the personalities.**

**No flames please.**

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Clint Barton was having a somewhat normal day.

As normal as you could classify it within the Avenger Mansion as they had decided to call it.

For the first hour of his day within waking, Tony had pulled an apparent All-nighter repairing his suit which had gone through slight damage- apparently it was not Nick-Fury-proof as he had claimed before.

During those repairs, one of his machines in which Clint could not tell if it's actual name was 'Dummy' or if Tony was just calling it that- ran over his perfectly weighted quiver of arrows._ Custom made _arrows.

Tony of course then had to _explain _why the arrows where there in the first place in exchange to the wall mount set in Clint's room.

Bruce however stepped in before Clint could take a long metal rod Tony had been smoldering on and use _that_ in substitute of an arrow and stab it straight through Tony.

And Clint, knowing better that to argue with green tinted eyes, stepped down, stomping up the stairs before heavily flopping onto one of the cream couches, earning a lifted eyebrow from Steve who had the phone Tony issued him on his lap, apparently he was trying to understand how to work it.

"What's wrong with you?" Natasha stated from on the other couch, leaning back against the lounger and flipping through some report Fury had sent them earlier.

"Stark broke my arrows." Clint ground out, hands digging into the couches arm rests as Steve let out a sigh, not sure whether to be annoyed by the constant behavior, or just apologize on Tony's behalf.

The team had gotten used to this somewhat.

"Hey guys- should I be concerned that Thor is destroying Tony's cupboards?" Bruce asked, apparently having followed Clint up the stairs.

"Leave him- Tony can pay it off." Steve called back, watching as Bruce sat down on the other available couch while holding a cup of what appeared to be black coffee.

"Friends! Friend Tony Stark has replenished the storage boxes of food! Do you wish for some?" Thor boomed from the kitchen area connected to the living room, a navy blue wrapper barely visible in his palm while crumbs of his obvious treat were present on his face.

"Nah- we're all good here." Bruce called back, leaning against the back of his chair with a sigh, obviously having not relaxed all day.

"I take it you've been bus-"Natasha stopped, the papers in her hand halting in mid motion, her eyes locked on something. Clint immediately followed her gaze, paranoia boiling quickly as his eyes searched, followed by Steve and Bruce, who hadn't noticed anything out of the sorts.

"…When was that box here?" Natasha asked, reaching for her side to pull out a sleek gun, causing Clint to shy away in surprise.

"You carry a _gun _on you _everywhere?" _He hissed lowly, and she ignored the question, keeping it pointed at the strangely shaped box, getting out of her seat and slowly approaching.

"Friends?" Thor quizzed, noticing the silence before he too entered the area, noticing Natasha's caution he reached for his hammer which was hooked gently onto the straps of his jeans.

Natasha swiftly knocked it over with her foot, and it fell with an airy noise, barely making any noise. Nudging it once, she frowned, not seeing any movement from the brown wrapped package.

"Jarvis- when did this get here?" Bruce asked, not exactly remembering when it arrived.

_"I have no information regarding the appearance of this device, Dr. Banner."_

Bruce frowned, and Clint now noticed the oddness. Steve shifted, not yet completely use to the AI.

"Nothing?" Clint asked, and Jarvis did another scan.

_"No visitors have been recorded entering or exciting the premises for the past 48 hours. The device has no logged point of entry or point of exit."_

"It just…got here? Appeared out of nowhere?" Natasha asked, not lowering her gun.

_"Correct, Agent Romanoff. My sensors detect no heat, nor bombs or any sort of weaponry inside."_

"Thanks Jarvis." She added, reaching down and picking up the box, weighing it in her hand before frowning, pressing on the middle.

"What is it?" Steve asked, on edge from his seat.

"It isn't made of anything strong- it's like a plastic, like a movie box." She confirmed, before tugging at the wrapper hesitantly, tearing the paper off completely to show what she had suspected.

A completely black movie box.

"A movie? How would a move box get in here?" Bruce asked with a frown, Steve having a faint idea over what was happening while Thor watched with interest.

"No idea." She murmured, prying open the side with a loud snap, as the plastic opened, showing the inside.

"…It's empty." She declared in surprise, frowning at the empty area where the disk usually would be.

"Maybe Tony forgot to put the disk back in?" Clint offered, but Bruce shook his head.

"No, he has that 'On Demand' thing with Jarvis; this is the first movie box I've seen in this mansion ever. Natasha, does it say anything? At all? Look at the flap between the cover and the box." Bruce offered and Natasha bent the cover more, allowing a normal white piece of paper, folded just right for it to slip between the two surfaces, to fall to the ground.

Natasha hesitantly picked up the paper, now realizing that it couldn't hurt her, and opened it, eyes widening as she read the first line.

_"Dear Avengers,_

_The rest of this letter must be read with all of you present, if any need to be fetched, I highly advise so now. Please note, that Tony Stark must not be present."_

Natasha read, thinking before turning to look at the steps to Tony's workshop, and seeing Thor, frozen on his apparent quest to relieve Tony of the metal he was probably working on.

"Does this seem a little odd to anyone?" Bruce asked, taking the entry of the paper and reading it himself.

"The Man of Iron cannot watch this moving image with us?" The blonde God asked, looking down at the hallways where he was going not that long ago.

"Let's just see what it wants, and we can get Stark if we need to, later." Clint added, voice still sour when talking about a certain suit builder

"Keep reading Natasha." Steve calmly stated, nodding to the spy who opened the other folded half of paper.

_"This letter has bypassed all security codes and networks needed to avoid detection. It has also sent the disk that is missing into the closest player, a high probability into the closest network mainframe-"_

"Jarvis?" Bruce asked, frowning as the AI answered what he did not want to hear.

_"Sir, I have no records of any external influence. The information is not available. The disk has appeared in little less than 7.5 seconds and counting to this point, ago."_

"But that was when you read that aloud." Steve pointed out, understanding that part at least.

Natasha quickly continued reading before anything could be said.

_"The disk is to be viewed. You have not noticed, but to this point, all external communication has been blocked. Security has been breached and you are now in what is classified as Lock-Down-"_

_"Sir, I cannot access the security. I have no power over the controls the phone network or interne-"_

"What about Stark?" Steve asked, not exactly sure on where to look as he glanced all throughout the room.

_"He is occupied in the lab. I cannot reach through the mainframe to alert him of this occurrence. I still maintain an audio and visual security feed."_

"So Man of Iron is not in danger?" Thor asked, having sat on the other cream couch.

"Seems not, Big Guy." Clint sighed, leaning back and relaxing slightly.

_ "Due to circumstances and availability of information, this video has been selected. The amount of information of all excepting one Avenger is of common knowledge due to computer hacking or of trust between one or more-"_

"Computer hacking? Anyone want to bet it's Stark?" Clint growled, and Natasha rolled her eyes.

"That's a losing bet, Clint." Bruce laughed, causing Clint to halfheartedly glare at his friend.

"Focus boys!" Natasha shouted, before sighing and reading once more.

_"This video has a high chance of bringing out unsettling emotions or emotional situations-"_

"Unsettling emotions? How is a moving image able to cause harm?"

"Remind me to let you watch Titanic."

_ "I highly urge you not to judge during the first part of the movie. None of you are allowed to leave this room before the movie is over. It is near two hour movie. Food and Drink are not needed, and stops will be made frequently for purposes you see during the movie."_

"Stops?" Bruce asked with a frown, now fearing it was hidden footage of Loki's attack.

"It can't be too bad- and if it were, Stark would be here." Steve offered, although none seemed to agree with his claim.

_ "Please sit back and enjoy. For your convenience the Hulk cannot interfere."_

Bruce looked stunned at that last statement, and Natasha frowned at the lack of signature, instead the tossed the paper onto the coffee table that also seated the empty box. She looked at Clint and Steve who sat on one couch, Bruce on the other, and she who claimed the lounger.

"We ready?" She asked, and with a few nods and a bored sigh, a virtual screen displayed in front of them, all of the lights dimming before Jarvis announced the disk was in motion.

And at once, an uncanny feeling of slight foreboding slipped into each of the Avengers-

This wasn't a normal movie night.

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**Please review- and No, Tony will not watch any of this movie because i simply don't know how he would react in that situation, sorry.**

**Review!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay! Update Time- this isn't the main part of the movie- it is the introduction, and i will say, there will be a slight amount of swearing.**

**Sorry if you don't like the swearing. :)**

* * *

The screen first was fuzzy, a thick static, one that Steve was used to seeing in theaters of his time. As the static continued to a rather long point, it cleared with a loud blaring noise similar to when Tony would blast music out of the speakers inside his lab.

Thor jumped, not used to the 'screen of moving warriors' as he called it, although it was probably the sudden appearance of such a loud song.

"Back in Black? Who would start a movie with _that?" _Natasha murmured, crossing her arms while Clint managed an affronted look.

"Hey! This is a classic song!" He shot back, before getting hit by Natasha who leaned over with a pillow in her grasp. They watched, as the screen now displayed a desert as well as a few army jeeps moving across a barren landscape.

"A turret in a jeep? What are they moving?" Bruce asked with a frown, noticing the army man sitting inside the jeep, positioned to fire at any enemy's.

"Maybe they're moving a prisoner." Steve suggested, noticing how one jeep seemed slightly more protected.

"Wow, who pissed them off?" Clint noticed, smirking as two army officials looked alert and obviously nervous, sitting in the front seat of one of the jeeps. Another younger boy was on the back left seat, and slowly, a hand holding a glass with alcohol was shown.

"Stark?" Steve blinked, looking at the screen where Tony obviously was sitting in the jeep, wearing tinted sunglasses and a rather fancy suit, holding the drink from before.

_"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial."_

"Yup, that's Stark." Natasha muttered, frowning at the Tony on screen.

The three army people said nothing, ignoring him if anything.

_"This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me. What, you're not allowed to talk?"_

"Tony! Don't goof off around army officials!" Natasha snapped, causing the others to glance at her momentarily.

_"Hey Forrest."_

_"We can talk sir."_

_"Oh I see, so it's personal?"_

_ "No ,you intimidate them."_

"A female warrior! I have met very few on this planet, besides you, Friend Natasha!" Thor boomed, a large grin on his face.

"Little quieter Thor- watching movies here."

_"Good God, you're a woman. I honestly… I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first."_

_"I'm an airman."_

_"You have actually excellent bone structure there. I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now- is that weird?"_

"Nice save Stark." Clint muttered, causing Bruce to roll his eyes while the people on the screen laughed.

_"Come on, it's okay, laugh."_

"Milking it- Really Tony?" Bruce teased, but Natasha frowned, looking at the screen image before voicing her opinion.

"That's…off… The tone of voice he's using…it's wrong." She stated slowly, as if unsure, Bruce looked at her slightly confused as he noticed nothing wrong.

_"Sir, I have a question to ask." _ The person on the front right of the jeep said, rather relaxed after the joke.

_"Yes please." _Tony-on screen didn't really seem into it, he was mostly bored actually.

_"Is it true you went 12 for with last year's Maxim cover models?"_

_"That is an excellent question. Yes and no."_

"Stark!" Natasha scowled, slightly annoyed at him.

_ "March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins. Anything else? You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"_

The younger army boy on Tony's left lowered a hand, and Steve scowled slightly, looking at the Tony. Obviously this soldier was new on the job.

_"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?"_

_"Yes, it's very cool."_

"That was actually very nice of him." Steve murmured, remembering how higher ranking officials were rather scary to begin with.

_ "All right. I don't want to see this on your MySpace page.-Please no gang signs"_

"Tony!"

_"No, throw it up, I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace."_

The room seemed to be silent, looking at the screen either confused or surprised.

"You didn't know, Cap? He built weapons before." Clint muttered, swallowing as he watched the screen where the younger boy urged the man on the passenger side to take the photo.

_"Just click it. Don't change any settings!"_

They gasped in sudden surprise as the surround sound carried through a loud explosion, causing the jeep to veer sharply to the right. It was so sudden that while Thor jumped, the couch on the other end lifted slightly before landing heavily.

_"What's going on?" _

_ "Contact left!" _The woman driver shouted, grabbing a gun and kicking the door open. As she stepped out, she cried out, collapsing onto the ground, causing Steve to gasp.

_"Jimmy, stay with Stark!" _The man who originally was going to take the photo shouted, cursing before he too kicked open the door.

_"Stay down!" _The younger boy, Jimmy, shouts, forcing the two down. They watch as the army man takes position around the front of the car- screaming as an explosion breaks the glass of the front windshield, blood splattering.

_"Son of a bitch!" _Jimmy cusses, loads a gun and kicking open the door, and Tony on the film panics, eyes widening as he realizes he's soon to be all alone.

_"Wait, wait, wait! Give me a gun!"_

_"Stay here!" _Jimmy shouts back, turning from the opposite side of the car and leaving Stark alone, only to scream as bullets rain upon him, puncturing the car and causing Tony to gasp and shy further back into the car.

"Oh my God." Natasha whispers, looking at the screen as Tony panics, turning and kicking open the jeep door, making a mad dash outside.

"Stay in the car! Get back in that car!" Clint shouts, eyes wide as he is deep into the movie- Tony in the film stumbles as dirt around him flies up from bullets. He lunged, jumping over a rock before settling against it, pulling out a phone and texting quickly, and panting.

A wave of dust and a small nuke device is sitting in the sand- Tony looks in horror, gasping as he read the label, before he jumps, trying to get out of the way of the bomb.

"Bomb! Get away Stark!" Clint roared, nearly jumping to his feet.

He is sent flying, landing hard on the ground, where he gasps, stunned in the sand. He blinks, looking at his chest which has small spots of red on it.

Tony on the film reached for his shirt, ripping open the middle onto to show a practically painted red shirt and spreading, just below.

"He's bleeding out..." Natasha whispered, noticing how thick the blood seemed to be.

"What?" Steve whispered, looking at Clint for help.

"He- it's like he's been shot...all over." He offered weakly, looking to see how Tony would recover.

The screen turns white.

"What?" Bruce asks, blinking at the screen. "If it weren't for you being here I'd think you just died Tony." Bruce weakly stated, trying to give a small laugh. The others looked away, not wanting to see the hospital, or the screams if anything.

"There is more!" Thor boomed in surprise, snapping everyone's attention back to the screen.

A bag is ripped off of the camera, which shows to be Tony's head. His eyes are glassy and his head rolls showing the cuts on his face. Looking around, Tony glances at a camera held in the arms of a Middle Eastern man, others hold guns ready and aimed for his head. The camera zooms out, showing a bandage soaked through with blood, all while a man speaks in a different language.

"Holy Shit Stark." Clint whispers, the others having faces that mirror his own.

"Where is he?" Steve whispered while Bruce leaned back heavily, mouthing 'Is this real?' before silently answering his own question

The screen flashes, before the words _IRON MAN _are displayed.

"Well...I think this is worse then what we were expecting." Steve weakly stated, thankful that he hadn't eaten anything recently.

Oh, they had _no idea._

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**Short, i know, but i'm just getting started!**

**Please review- but i'm going to camp soon so it may be a while until i update again, sorry!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	3. Chapter 3

**New update! It's hard to juggle 3 stories at once!**

**Sorry for the swearing!**

* * *

It seemed that the movie waited, well, it did as long as everybody was mentally stable.

Steve wasn't sure exactly what they had just briefly seen; Natasha was dreading the worse, having read the reports. Thor was oblivious, Clint understood, and Bruce knew about it completely.

This movie was going to be _tough._

_"Visionary. Genius."_

They looked at the screen as a narrator took the place, magazine covers slipping onto the screen.

"Jarvis?" Bruce asked, not wanting to deal with this yet.

_"I am sorry, Dr. Banner. It is beyond my control."_

_"American patriot."_

"Yeah right." Steve muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and glaring at the magazine cover.

_"Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind."_

"Howard?" Steve asked nobody, looking at how his friend had changed.

_"At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine."_

"Tony was a cute kid." Clint snorted, looking at the new magazine cover that showed him, standing next to an older man with a fake smile.

_"And at 17. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from MIT. Then, the passing of a titan."_

"A car accident? Howard Stark died from a car accident?" Steve whispered, sinking back in his chair as a new magazine cover popped up, he looked at the screen in shock as it passed, the others throwing concerned looks.

_"Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until at age 21, the prodigal son returns and is appointed the new CEO of Stark Industries."_

"Who's Obadiah Stane?" Clint frowned, and Natasha bit her lip- she knew all of this stuff.

"Tasha?" Clint asked, slightly hurt that he wasn't allowed to know.

"You'll find out in the movie." She muttered, looking away.

_"With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe."_

"That was for a show?" Clint asked, eyes raised as the camera spiraled out, showing many people sitting in a large auditorium clapping. A man in a suit stood at the podium, talking to the crowd.

_"As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark. Tony?"_

The man looked around slightly, glancing at Obadiah who shook his head slightly before rising and walking forward instead.

_"Thank you, Colonel."_

_"Thanks for the save." _The man mutters to Obadiah before handing over the award and stepping back.

_"This is beautiful, Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful." _The man smiled, nodding to the camera while inspecting the award.

"He doesn't care for it at all, does he?" Bruce sighed, and Steve gave a slight laugh at that.

_"Well, I'm not Tony Stark. But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award…Tony, you know, the best thing about tony is also the worst thing. He's always working."_

"What?" Steve asked in surprise, eyebrows lifting up.

"Doesn't this Friend of Friend Stark know he at all?" Thor grumbled, confused.

The scene changed, Tony in Vegas throwing dice on a gambling table, smirking as his sunglass covered eyes watch where they fall.

_"Work it! Come on!" _Tony shouted, looking at the dice as the man from before walks through the crowd.

_"You are unbelievable."_

_"Oh, no! Did they rope you into this?" _Tony sighed, throwing the dice again.

_"Nobody roped me into anything!"_

_"I'm so sorry." _Tony apologizes, although the man ignores him and continues on.

_"But they told me that if I presented you with an award, you'd be deeply honored."_

_"Oh course I'd be deeply honored. And it's you, that's great." _Tony responds, eyes grazing over a women to his right and almost completely ignoring the man.

_"So, when do we do it?"_

_"It's right here. Here you go." _The man glares as he hands over the award, Tony picks it up in surprise, weighing it in his hand.

_"There it is. That was easy…I'm so sorry." _He apologizes again, although the other man is still upset.

_"Yeah, it's okay." _The man sighs, rolling his eyes.

_"Wow, would you look at that? That's something else. I don't have any of those floating around." _He smirks, before handing the award carelessly to a woman on his right before leaning over to grab all of his won chips from the table.

_"Give me a hand, will you? Give me a little something-something." _Tony smirks, holding up his hand of dice and the woman on his right blows slowly over his hand, he then moves his hand to the man's face.

_"Okay, you too."_

_"I don't blow on a man's dice." _He growls, pushing his hand away where the dice roll out and fly across the table.

_"There it is! Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes rolls! And…Two craps. Line Away."_

_"That's what happens." _Rhodes mutters, Tony rolling his shoulders as chips are taken from him.

_"Worse things have happened. I think we're going to be fine."_

They're walking out side by side, Tony snaps to a man on his left.

_"Color me up, William."_

_"This is where I exit." _Rhodes sighs, nodding to another exit.

_"All right."_

_"Tomorrow, don't be late!"_

_"Yeah, you can count on it."_

_"I'm serious!"_

_"I know, I know." _Tony mock waves, rolling his eyes before walking towards his car, body guards on either side of him.

_"Render unto Caesar. That which is Caesar's. There you go." _Tony speaks, tossing his recently won award at a man who was dressed in old armor to take pictures.

"He just got that award!" Steve bursts out, breaking the well placed silence as everyone boiled in his or her own thoughts.

"Friend Stark is different than this." Thor frowned, watching the careless Tony walk on.

_"Mr. Stark! Excuse me, Mr. Stark!" _

The bodyguards grab her; she flashes a smile towards Tony who is facing his chauffer.

_"Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair magazine. Can I ask you a couple of questions?" _She asks, and Tony briefly looks at his driver, who inspects the woman.

_"She's cute." _The driver responds, Tony spinning away to look at the woman.

_"Yeah, okay let's go."_

"He only goes for it if they're cute?" Bruce frowns, thinking a little less of his science friend.

_"You've been called the Da Vinci of our time. What do you say to that?"_

_"Absolutely ridiculous. I don't paint."_

"He's just throwing these questions away!" Steve bursts out again, fury rising to a new level.

"It's what he does, Steve." Natasha sighed, looking at the screen.

_"And what do you say to your other nickname? ' The Merchant of Death'?" _The smile slides off her face, causing her to look disappointedly at him.

_"That's not bad. Let me guess. Berkeley?" _He smirks, completely amused by the name.

"He finds that name funny?" This time it's Clint who outbursts, glaring and grinding his teeth at the horrible name.

_"Brown, actually." _She dryly corrects, holding the microphone up to him.

_"Well, Ms. Brown, it's an imperfect world, but it's the only one we've got. I guarantee you, the day weapons are no longer needed to keep the peace, and I'll start making bricks and beams for baby hospitals."_

_"Rehearse that much?"_

_"Every night in front of the mirror before bedtime."_

_"I can see that."_

_"I'd like to show you first-hand."_

"We don't need this, Stark." Natasha ground out between her teeth, eyes narrowing into a glare.

_"All I want is a serious answer."_

_"Okay, here's serious. My old man had a philosophy, 'Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy'."_

_"That's a great line coming from the guy selling the sticks."_

_"My father helped defeat the Nazis. He worked on the Manhattan Project. A lot of people, including your professors at Brown would call that being a hero."_

_"And a lot of people would also call that war profiteering."_

"She has guts." Clint muttered, watching the tense interrogation.

_"Tell me, do you plan to report on the millions we've saved by advancing medical technology, or kept from starvation with our intelli-crops? All those breakthroughs, military funding, honey."_

_"You ever lose an hour of sleep your whole life?"_

_"I'd be prepared to lose a few with you."_

New scene- they're-

"We do NOT need to see that!" Clint yelps, falling off the chair he was perched on while the others immediately went to shield their eyes.

"Clint- Tony's a playboy. He does this a lot." Natasha groaned, she too, averting her eyes from the screen.

"He does this a lot?" Steve squeaked, hiding his eyes to protect his modesty.

"…Shit, we're screwed." Clint groaned.

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**Please review! Thanks!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Good morning. It's 7:00 a.m."_

The woman from before gasps, pulling the sheets over her as the computered voice of JARVIS is heard, blinds sliding open to light up the room.

"I remember when you heard JARVIS for the first time." Bruce chuckled, glancing at Steve who glanced away quickly, blushing steadily.

_"The weather in Malibu is 72 degrees with scattered clouds. The surf conditions are fair with waist-to-shoulder high lines. High tide will be at 10:52 a.m."_

As JARVIS speaks, the camera rolls out gently showing a beautiful home perched on the top of a cliff face over looking beautiful blue water with gentle waves rolling all over.

"Wow- and why are we in this tower?" Clint asked, giving a low whistle of appreciation.

"It doesn't look like that anymore." Natasha shrugged, causing Thor to look at him in alarm.

"Anymore? What do you speak of, Friend Natasha?" Thor asked, looking at her with mild concern.

"He…remodeled." Natasha said with a slight twitch of her lips to hide humor in the statement before they glanced at the television.

_"Tony?...Hey, Tony?" _ The same blonde-haired person asked, wondering around a large spacious room wearing a very large shirt, glancing at the pictures on display before looking at a rather advanced looking panel on the wall, experimentally pressing a button.

_"You are not authorized to access this area." _JARVIS alerted, flashing a few lights, causing her to recoil in alarm and step back.

_"Jesus." _She gasped, slightly afraid of the panel.

_"That's JARVIS. He runs the house." _A voice offered, showing Pepper, holding a dry clean bag and an icy expression.

"Oh… This is getting awkward." Clint laughed, being playfully swatted by Natasha.

_"I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go." _Pepper nodded, a frosty smile on her face as the blonde-haired person walked forward, chewing on one fingernail.

_"You must be the famous Pepper Potts." _The blonde-haired person smirked, and Natasha slyly smiled at the tone the blonde-haired person was using.

"Natasha?" Steve asked, alarmed by the smile.

"Wait for it." She grinned back, watching eagerly.

_"Indeed I am."_

_"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry-cleaning."_

"Oh- girl fight." Clint chuckled, leaning forward to get a better view.

_"I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requites, including occasionally taking out the trash. Will that be all?" _Pepper asked, looking at the girls insulted face as she smiled with a frosty smile that clearly represented that she knew she won.

"Oh, burn!" Clint laughed, even Thor adding in a few chuckles before he patted Clint on the back, nearly sending him to the ground.

"Ah! I fear not even my brother could have spoken as smoothly as that!" Thor laughed, just as the scene changed.

"Oh, Stark's lab." Steve smiled, never having actually seen inside the lab before.

"It's great." Bruce echoed a faint smile on his face.

_"Give me an exploded view."_

_"The compression in cylinder three appears to be low."_

_"Log that." _Tony reports to Jarvis, spinning the hologram around to see if there was any imminent problem.

Pepper clicks a few buttons, activating the glass door just as JARVIS lowers the music volume, walking straight towards Tony who looks up and quickly looks down again.

_"I'm gonna' try again, right now."_

_"Please don't turn down my music." _Tony whined, looking up with pleading eyes in which Pepper refused to cave.

_"I'll keep you posted. You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." _Pepper scolds, and Tony shifts, moving to sit on the wheel of the car he was previously working on.

_"How'd she take it?"_

_"Like a champ."_

_"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?" _Tony sighs, seeing how his position in the situation wasn't loosening up any more.

_"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago."_

"An hour and a half?" Steve gawked, and Bruce sighed, agreeing.

"You see why we're lucky to get any paperwork back from him." Bruce sighed.

_"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there."_

_"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out of the door."_

_"Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?"_

"Got a point there." Clint muttered slightly, wincing as he was hit, once again.

_"Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes, or no?"_

_"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"_

_"No. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton, where he lived and worked, not 'Spring' like the season."_

_"So?" _He asked, looking up with one eyebrow rose towards his hairline.

_"I think it's a fair example. I think it's incredibly overpriced." _She offered, knowing the latter half of her statement would be the selling point.

_"I need it." _He demands directly after she finished talking, he rises, whipping his hands on a nearby rag and starts walking.

_"But it. Store it." _He continues as she flips the paper, reading the next issue.

_"Okay. The MIT commencement speech-"_

_"Is in June. Please, don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way down." _

_"They're haranguing me, so I'm gonna' say yes."_

_"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me."_

"Is that his policy for hacking?" Clint asked, amused at the few words.

_"I need you to sign this before you get on the plane."_

_"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?"_

_"As a matter of fact, I do."_

_"I don't like it when you have plans."_

_"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday."_

_"It's your birthday?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I knew that. Already?"_

_"Yeah, isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year."_

_"Get yourself something nice from me."_

_"I already did."_

_"And?"_

_"It was very nice."_

"Does anybody else think this is kinda' sad?" Clint sighed; watching the screen, Steve awkwardly raised a hand while Bruce just sighed.

_"Yeah?"_

_"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark."_

_"You're welcome, Miss Potts."_

New scene, a fast Audi R8 blasts across a dessert. Music blasting loudly from its speakers. A black car follows desperately, trying to catch up to the sports car ahead.

After a while, the Audi pulls into an airport, Tony just opening his door when the black car follows, sliding to a stop.

_"You're good. I thought I lost you back there." _Tony smirks, standing up and showing off a leather jacket. Happy gets out and grins, taking a bags out of the black car's trunk.

_"You did, sir. I had to cut across Mulholland."_

_"I got you, I got you." _Tony nodded turning and walking towards the awaiting craft. He frowns, once he see's Rhodey with a frown at the top of the stairs.

_"What's wrong with you? What?"_

_"Three hours."_

_"I got caught doing a piece for Vanity Fair."_

_"For three hours. For three hours you got me standing here."_

_"Waiting on you now. Let's go. Come on." _Tony grins, slipping past Rhodey who follows in, allowing the plane to take off.

Once the plane takes off, it shows Rhodey reading something while Tony spins in his seat, looking at his friend across from him.

_"What you reading, platypus?"_

"Friend Natasha-"

"A type of mammal animal that lays eggs." She deadpanned.

_"Nothing."_

_"Come on, sour patch. Don't be mad._

_"I told you, I'm not mad. I'm indifferent, okay:_

_"I said I was sorry-"_

A flight attendant walks up, an attractive blonde-haired woman before interrupting.

_"Good morning, Mr. Stark._

_"You don't need to apologize to me. I'm your man." _Rhodey continues on, ignoring the woman.

_"Hi. I told him I was sorry, but he…" _Tony shrugged, talking to the flight attendant before looking back at Rhodey.

_"I'm just indifferent right now."_

_"How towel?" _The assistant offers, looking between the two.

"Why doesn't she just leave?" Natasha growled, glaring at the blonde-haired woman.

_"You don't respect yourself, so I know you don't respect me." _Rhodey sighs.

_"I respect you!" _Tony cried out.

_"I'm just your babysitter. So, when you need your diaper changed…thank you…Let me know and I'll get you a bottle, okay?" _Rhodey continues on, the two using their hot towel as another flight attendant comes by.

_"Hey! Heat up the sake, will you?" _He calls towards the woman who smiles and walks away.

_"Thanks for reminding me. No, we're not talking."_

_"We're not drinking, we're working right now." _Rhodey tries to refuse the drink but that women ignore him.

_"You can't have sashimi without sake." _Tony points out, Rhodey glares at Tony.

_"You are constitutionally incapable of being responsible."_

_"It would be irresponsible not to drink. I'm just talking about a nightcap."_

_"Hot sake?" _The woman returns, looking at the two.

_"Yes, two please." _Tony waves them on.

_"No. I'm not drinking. I don't want any." _Rhodey glares, and Tony smirks.

Scene change.

Music is loud and the two are leaning back against the bench seat drunk, Rhodey obviously wasted while Tony is faring better.

"What happened to them?" Steve asked in alarm, Natasha giving a small smirk.

"The power of Stark's alcohol." She briefly explained. Glancing at how the lights flashed on the screen and how the flight attendances danced around.

_"That's what I'm talking about!" _Rhodey exclaimed in a drunken slur.

_"When I get up in the morning and I'm putting on my uniform, you know what I recognize? I see in that mirror that every person that's got this uniform on got my back!" _Rhodey continued.

"Does anyone get what he's saying?" Clint asked with eyebrows raised.

_"Hey, you know what? I'm not like you. I'm not cut out-" _Tony started, obviously trying to get out of the mess he made.

_"No, no! You don't have to be like me! But you're more than what you are!" _Rhodey wailed, trying to make him understand.

"That literally made no sense." Clint deadpanned, causing Bruce to sigh.

"Just…don't think about it, and you'll get it." He offered helpfully.

_"Can you excuse me if I'm a bit distracted here?" _Tony stated, looking at his wailing friend and the dancing girls.

_"No! You can't be distracted right now! You listen to me!"_

The camera zooms out to show the plane zooming through the air.

_"General."_

_"Welcome, Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation."_

_"Thanks."_

Tony is standing in front of everyone, on the edge of a rock cropping while all military men are below him, looking up and waiting.

_"Is it better to be feared, or respected?" _Tony asks, looking out while wing gently brushes his hair.

_"I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology."_

"What?" Steve asked, baffled by what he just said, however Bruce and Natasha seemed to be staring at the screen with extra curiosity.

_"They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon; you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it. That's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves."_

"Oh my god- that's the missile, isn't it?" Bruce asks, glancing to Natasha with alarm as she hesitantly nodded.

"Missile, what missile? What's wrong?" Steve asked, alarmed and perking up.

"The Jericho Missile…Tony- he destroyed them all…" Natasha offered, causing Clint to frown.

"Why? Why would he destroy his weapon?"

"Watch." Bruce detachedly stated, and the group looked.

_"For your consideration, the Jericho." _

The missile blasts into the air, detaching and sending dozens out, spiraling down before it collides with the mountain, huge explosions before a wave of wing buffets everyone, showing how mighty the explosion was.

"…Oh…"

_"I'll be throwing one of these in with every purchase of 500 Million or more." _ He reaches over and pulls a drink out of a cooler, holding it high in the air for an invisible toast.

_"To peace!" _He smirks, flipping out his phone and seeing a picture of Obadiah.

_"Tony."_

_"Obie, what are you doing up?"_

"Up?" Thor asked confusion in his face.

"Time change." Steve commented.

_"I couldn't sleep till I found out how it went. How'd it go?"_

_"It went great. Looks like it's gonna' be an early Christmas."_

_"Hey! Way to go, my boy! I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"_

_"Why aren't you wearing those pajamas I got you?" _Tony smirked, looking cheekily into his phone while Obadiah rolled his eyes.

_"Good night, Tony."_ Tony walks over to a car that peaked everyone's attention before his sits in, window rolling down.

_"Hey, Tony." _Rhodey walks over, giving a slight nod to his friend.

_"I'm sorry; this is the 'fun-vee' The 'hum-drum-vee' is back there." _ Tony points behind and hides a smile, Rhodey gives a nod.

_"Nice job. See you back at base." _ Tony nods, sipping on his drink he brought with him.

"Shit- that's the car he was in." Clint croaks, finally recognizing what the others suspected.

Then the scene changed, cars driving before exploding, causing the image to become shaky.

"Is that I- Shit!" Clint cusses, slapping hands over his ears as everyone else does, a piercing scream of agony filling the room as the image is of Tony lying on a bench, screaming in pain while blood is _everywhere,_ one arm is up near his neck, as if to fend off a blow. More screaming and a cloth is brutally showed in his face, stopping his thrashing as something cuts into his skin…

And Tony stills, mouth open, breathing raggedly as the screen turns black…

"They cut him open." Steve croaked, looking at the television with a look of horror.

"Had to get the Reactor in him somehow-"Bruce muttered darkly, Steve looking at him in alarm.

"They put the Reactor in him? While he was awake?" Steve gasped, voice hardly above a whisper, and Bruce let out a short mocking laugh.

"You know terrorists, the more pain the better."

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, i have so many requests comming in now for stories!**

**Anyways, for your questions, i think i will only do Iron Man 1, but if this is a giant hit, i maybe will do the other stories.**

**~Oceanbreeze7,**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

The image of Tony is lying on a bench, blinking as he walked and coughs slightly reaching up with his left hand to bat at something, before finding a tube and pulling on it. He's tracing it to his nose and gagging at the noise it makes as it slips and slides its way out, its length betraying how deep it actually was. Shuddering before rolling his head to one side, looking at a mug.

"He doesn't realize where he is." Bruce whispered, sorrow thick in his voice while the others watched, unusually quiet.

He spots a mug, reaching out with shuttering breaths that condense into mist. He reaches, touching it slightly but only sending it onto the ground where it shattered with a loud clattering noise. He coughs again as the scene changes.

A man is shaving in a shard of a broken mirror. Tony spots him, and tries to move, wincing as something tugs sharply on his chest, causing him to stop and look back at the bed where the wires traveled across.

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you." _

The man murmurs, causing Tony to turn and stare at the car battery, grabbing the two chords and started to trace them, fingers shaking in horror as they slipped up his shirt-

"A car battery? He was hooked up to a _Car Battery?" _Clint seethed, swallowing thickly and looking away momentarily.

Tony yanks, ripping and tugging on the fabric which covered his chest, strips tear away and he ignores the pain of it jostling him. He pulls again, until a metal corroded circle is shown, rusty and metal held into his skin with a few rusting screws.

He recoils sharply, gasping in pain and horror.

"That's sick. That is just…_wrong_ and sick!" Steve argues, his eyes closed as he tries to not look at the device.

"That could kill him- the metal could have a virus on it or something." Bruce murmured softly while even Thor looked queasy over what happened.

_Scene change._

_The other man is near a fire, he whistles softly as he stirs some sort of food in a pot, paying no notice to Tony who was sitting on the bed he awoke in._

_"What the hell did you do to me?"_

Tony asks, causing the man to look up, but his voice was harsh, sore and raw from screaming. His legs were drawn to his chest, cables sneaking out his one side to the battery nearby.

"His voice is raw." Thor grumbled, feeling filled with some sort of sorrow at the film.

_"What I did? What I did is to save your life." _The man smiles, nodding towards the battery before stiring he food once more.

_"I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your atrial septum-"_

"Bruce?" Steve asked, looking at the man when he heard the odd word.

"His heart." Bruce croaks, and Steve's face goes pale.

_"Here, want to see?" _He pulled up a crystal vial, shaking it so Tony could hear the small noise of metal on glass.

_"I have a souvenir. Take a look." _The man nods, tossing it to Tony who catched it, now managing to stand up and hold it to the light, seeing the small shrapnel shards the size of Shark teeth.

_"I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs." _The man offers, and Tony is dull, face expressionless as he looks at the man.

_"What is this?" _Tony asks, no emotion and eyes glassy with pain, the man looks up, glancing at the battery before his voice softens slightly.

_"That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." _

Tony looks down, zipping the jacket and hiding the thing from sight, except for the large wires hanging out of the bottom of his jacket.

_"That's right. Smile." _The man encourages, going back to his cooking.

"Smile! How the hell can he smile when he has a freaking car battery strapped to him!" Clint shouts, causing Bruce to flinch and look away, Natasha sets a hand on his arm, calming him down slightly as he notices her disapproving frown.

_"We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern."_

_"I don't remember." _ Tony speaks again, looking away, and the man smiles bitterly.

_"No, you wouldn't"_

_"If I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on intergrated circuits…where are we?" _Tony bitterly asks, voice still rough and causing everyone to twitch slightly.

The door shakes, and people start shouting in a different language on the other side, causing the man to react, rushing to Tony and helping him stand, letting him grab the battery.

_"Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do." _The man hisses under his breath.

"What, why is Friend Stark being commanded so?" Thor asked, his voice much quieter then usual.

"He's being visited by his captors, being told why he's there." Natasha spat, causing Steve to swallow.

_"Come on, put your hands up." _He hisses again, Tony matching him while he keeps his eyes on the weapons the men burst in with.

_"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?"_ He asked in confusion, the man giving a sharp glare and repeating again under his breath.

_"Do you understand me? Do as I do."_

The door swings open, and a man walks forward, a thick black beard on his face as he grins, talking in a language that baffled Tony while looking right at him.

"Does Tony speak-"

"No." Natasha spoke quickly, cutting off Steve's question, before looking at the screen again.

_"He says 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America'"_ The man on Tony's left murmurs, causing Tony to watch warily.

_"He is honored. He wants you to build the missile." _ The bearded man scowls, hastily correcting the man on Tony's left.

_"The Jericho missile that you demonstrated. This one." _He passes a photo to Tony, the picture of the missile on it and Tony stares a few moments, before swollowign thickly and looking upright.

"Why is it so bad?" Thor asked lowly, confused himself, and Bruce gave a dry laugh.

"Thor- that missile could destroy the entire tower, and have enough room to destroy 7 city blocks. That thing could destroy New York in itself." He drly stated, and Thor looked back, intent on knowing what was to happen.

_"I refuse."_

"No!" Clint shouted, jumping to his feet, but before one could question his outburst, there was a horrible sound on the screen.

Steve physicaly jumped as a muffled screaming noise was heard, Tony's head being yanked above the water by his hair, mouth gagging and coughing as water gushed out from his obviously filled lungs.

"They're torturing him." Bruce moaned, leaning back and shaking slightly, it was obvious that if he could 'hulk out' he would have long ago.

He hadn't even recovered before he was forced under again, hands twisted painfully behind his back as he lurched, back arching as sparks flew off of the car battery, he flinched at every spark that burned his skin, back convulsing slightly under the electricity, forcing his head even deeper as he no doubtably screamed under.

"This is what mortals do to one another? I shall kill them!" Thor seethed, watching with anger as Tony was dragged out, limp and dazed, gasping and vomiting water as the sun blinded him, He was kicked forward, clutching his car battery to his chest as he frantically looked around, almost terrified by the dozens of crates of weapons, all fitted with his logo's.

_"He wants to know what you think." _The man from inside translated from the bearded grinning man. Tony looks, still looking around while shivering slightly from the cold in his stomach and lungs, the other man continues to talk.

_" I think you got a lot of my weapons." _Tony croaks out, noticing even more crates around the corner.

_"He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile…He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately, and when you're done, he will set you free." _The man translated.

"No he wont." Natasha murmered, the others hearing it but making no comment.

Tony gives a grim smile, clasping hands with the man and speaking a few words.

_"No he won't."_

_"…No he won't." _The other man confirmed after a moment of hesitation.

_Scene change._

They are around a fire, Tony staring blankly into the flickering light while the other man talks on the other side, looking at him.

_"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains." _The man spoke, frowning as Tony gave no reaction, still staring into the fire.

"What's he trying to do?" Steve asked, baffled, and Clint shrugged, rubbing his temples while Bruce narrowed his eyes.

"He's trying to fire him up. He- Tony thinks better when he has a goal, something giving him hope…" Bruce weakly tried to explain.

_"Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark! Your life's work, in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great, Tony Stark?" _The man growled, and Tony, still remained unresponsive, looking into the fire.

_"Or are you going to do something about it?"_

"Come on Stark. Come on." Clint murmered under his breath, knowing Natasha heard, but for once, she didn't hit his arm or swat him with a pillow.

_"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way." _Tony's voice was so weak, defeated that Thor recoiled, Bruce having to look away from the screen while Steve just sighed into his hand.

_"And if they don't…I'll probably be dead in a week." _He bitteraly spat, hand clawing into his palm as he finally met the man's eyes, who gave a sour smile.

_"Well then…this is a very important week for you, isn't it?"_

_Scene change._

"He's building it!" Steve yelped, watching as Tony commanded orders, his comradd translating them and dozens of the terrorists moving about, transporting weapons inside for Tony to work on.

_"If this is going to be my work station, I want it well lit. I want these up. I need welding hear. I don't care if it's acetylene or propane. I need a soldering station. I need helmets. I'm gonna' need goggles. I would like a smelting cup, I need two sets of precision tools" _He listed off, pointing to areas that were needed while the other shouted it back In the language, the people obeying.

"He's swapped sides- he's building the damn thing!" Clint seethed, but instead, Natasha chuckled, a light in her eyes.

"No- he's tricking them." She smiled, throwing her head back until it hit the back of the couch, letting out a small releaved laugh that Bruce echoed.

_Scene change._

_"How many languages do you speak?"_

_"A lot." _

They were over the top of a missile, Tony cracking the top off and playing with a few wires, pulling them and retangling them.

_"But apparently, not enough for this place."_ Tony gave a small smile at that, continuing to word as the man continues on.

_"They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, and Russian."_

_"Who are these people?" _Tony asks, removing a red wire from the tangle.

_"They are your loyal customers, sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings…You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process."_

Tony says nothing and snatches a hammer on his side, slamming it into the top of the missile with an impressive strike, opening it easily and removing a small part, holding it up to the light before yanking the wires out of the remains.

_"Okay, we don't need this."_

The man jumps as Tony hurls the rest of the missile over his shoulder, colliding on the ground loudly while he looks at the piece Tony holds.

_"What is that?"_

_"That's palladium, 0.15 grams."_

"Palladium?" Bruce perks up at this, frowning before letting out a relieved laugh, one that showed that Tony was doing something probably impossible.

"What?" Steve asked, blinking in surprise.

"he's building his Arc Reactor- he's building one in a cave!" Bruce laughed, Clint looking at the screen intently.

_"We need at least 1.6, so why don't you go break down the other 11?"_

_New Scene._

_"Careful…Careful, we only get one shot at this."_

Tony states, holding the battery close to his chest while the other man holds a clay pot with metal tongs, moving slowly with the melted palladium towards a mold set out on the table.

_"Relax. I have steady hands. Why do you think you're still alive?" _The man smiles, pouring the liquid gently into the mold.

_"What do I call you?"_

_"My name is Yinsen."_

_"Yinsen, Nice to meet you."_

_"Nice to meet you too."_

_Scene change._

Tony pulls out a thin metal circle, as thin as a wire as he turns it in the light, moving it to a loop created from the chunks from the missiles he had taken. He snaps it in, and a low hum fills the room, a blue light starts to glow, illuminating Tony's face and Yinsen's as he walks over, taking a seat next to him.

_"That doesn't look like a Jericho missile."_

_"That's because it's a miniaturized Arc Reactor." _Tony states, his face not showing an ounce of pride in his new creation, letting his eyes roam it for flaws instead.

_"I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."_

_"But what could it generate?"_

_"If my math is right, and it always is, three gigajoules per second."_

_"That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes." _Yinsen whispers in awe, looking at the device in a new light.

_"Yeah, or something big for 15 minutes."_

Tony pulls aside papers, showing roughly drawn schematics of metal parts, all in an odd order.

_"This is our ticket out of here."_

_"What is it?" _Yinsen frowns, not seeing a bomb or some device in it

_"flatten them out and look."_

Yinsen does so, eyes widening as the prints line themselves up to create a thick metal shell, an iron suit.

"Huh, built a suit in a cave." Clint grunted, and once again, he was swatted.

_Scene change._

Security footage was shown, a grainy screen showing a makeshift operation, Tony on a table with Yinsen over him. Tony convulsin and back arching in obvious pain after a while, he frows still, before he rises, standing and walking around without the car battery, a glowing blue light imates from his chest as he looks right at the camera before turning away.

"Shit, that had to hurt." Clint winces and Bruce sighs.

"Tony told me that it was like getting a rib sawed off without anesthetics." Bruce echoed, sounding uncomfortable with the whole thing.

_Scene change._

They're gambling, throwing dice on a board and moving small pieces while speaking in hushed tones near a fire.

_"Good roll, good roll" _Yinsen murmers, taking the dice himself.

_"You still haven't told me where you're from." _Tony mentioned, he wrapped in a thick blanket over his shoulders.

_"I'm from a small town called Gulmira." _Yinsen smiles, looking at Tony before moving his pieces.

"We've been there." Natasha murmers, causing Clint to look at her in surprise.

"We have?" He asks, confusion on his face.

"That mission in Gulmira- that small village in Afghanistan. Remember? That weapon seller we had to kill? The one where you shot-"

"If you finish that statement, _you'll_ get an arrow in your foot." Clint grunted, blushing slightly as he rememberd the mission.

_"It's actually a nice place."_

_"Got a family?" _Tony asked, rolling his dice and not lifting his eyes.

_"Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you Stark?"_

Tony shifts, not looking a Yinsen and watches the wall before speaking very quietly.

_"No."_

"What? What about Lady Pepper?" Thor asked in surprise, and even that response confused Natasha, and Bruce tried his best to understand.

"Is he like, depressed, or something?" Clint asked, and the others shrugged.

_"No? So you're a man who has everything and nothing."_

Tony meets his eye, before looking down, saying nothing.

"Oh Tony…" Bruce sighs, leaning back on the chair.

_Scene change._

They're working, building and welding like crazy. It seems they are always doing something. The men on the other side of the door shout something, causing Tony to look up from the bit he was welding, letting the blow torch fizzle down and lifting the helmet. Yinsen glances at Tony, who shrugs as they move in.

A new man walks forward, looking at Tony's Arc Reactor and glancing around.

_"Relax."_ He states, speaking in English towards Tony and Yinsen. He walks toward Tony, looking at the things he was welding.

_"The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology."_

"Once?" Clint hissed, Natasha swatting him hard to make him be quiet.

_"It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire…But today, whoever holds the latest Stark Weapons ruses these lands. And soon, it will be my turn."_

The man turned, speaking to the others in the language Tony did not understand, he glances at Yinsen, for a translation.

_""What does he want?"_ Tony asks, warily watching as they force Yinsen to his knees, the newcomer pulling a burning red ember from the fire with tongs.

_"What do you want? A delivery date?"_ Tony asks, taking a step forward while the men start shouting, pointing their weapons at him and he freezing. He looks on, confused on what is happening.

_"I need him…Good assistant." _Tony nodded to Yinsen, who watched, releaved as the coal was taken further away from his mouth.

_"You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile." _The man spat, turning and marching out of the room, leaving Yinsen as he fell to the ground.

_Scene Change_

_"Okay? Can you move?"_

_"Okay, say it again."_

_"41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps, turn right."_

People were banging on the door, rushing over while they glaned at the door in alarm.

_"Say something, say something back to him."_

_"He's speaking in Hungarian. I don't-"_

_"Then speak Hungarian."_

Yinsen turns, speaking back while the camera is just out of reach of the two working. They fiddled around, working with some sort of computer while doing programming of sorts.

_"Let me finish this. Inatialize the power sequence. Okay-"_

_"Now!" _Yinsen noticed, causing Tony to nod from where he was trapped to the wall inside something metal.

_"Function 11. Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up right now. Talk to me, tell me when you see it."_

_"I have it."_

_"Press control '1'"_

_"Come over here and button me up."_

_"Okay, all right."_

_"Every other hex bolt."_

_"They're coming!"_

_"Nothing pretty, just get it done…just get it done."_

"Does anyone else feel…really bad about what's going to hap-"

"Clint! Shut up!"

_"Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?"_

_"We need more time…I'm gonna' go buy you some time!" _Yinsen shouted, turning and running towards the door, panic suddenly filled tony's features as he leaned over, shouting towards him from where he was stuck on the wall.

_"Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!"_

The loading bar increases slowly before with a click, a loud thud is heard. Eery silence.

Three men move towards the door, holding guns while pushing one inside, glancing around the dark work space. He looks around, faintly noticing the blue screen of the computer, fully downloaded.

The camera zooms out, a hand in some sort of bullet proof material tenses and relaxes, getting used to the feeling.

"I take it back- _now_ it feels like something bad's going to happen." Clint whispered, watching intently.

With a flash of blue reactor light, the man goes flying across the room, spraying bullets helplessly as he crumples on the stone ground, the others firing bullets, combing the area.

Another flash of blue and a giant arm slams into another guy, causing him to crumple while bullets bounce off with no problem. He swings, smashing a mans face as he falls, the camera zooming out to show a huge metal tank of a man.

"That is Friend Tony?" Thor asks in shock while Steve looks at the mountain of welded metal in shock.

It takes loud steps forward, walking into an area while bullet flashes illuminated before Tony spun, slamming more people to the ground where they didn't get back up.

The people run in horror, screaming while Tony follows, they close a heavy metal door, trapping on of their own on the other side where he screams in horror, banging despretly to be let in.

On the other side, his screams cut off sickingly.

"…Oh my god…" Steve choked out.

The men look at each other, swallowing thickly while the door buckles under a hit, another slam and the door bursts open, bullets flying in a frenzy as Tony marches through, swinging is arm and hitting a guy while smashing his arm into a rock support.

He pulls, tugging on his arm while a brave man walks forward, pressing a pistol to the metal shell covering his head and pulling the trigger.

Tony stills, he turns, looking at the man almost in surprise before yanking his arm free and smashing the man down with no mercy.

_Scene Change._

Raza walks out from behind a barrier of sand, loading a rocket launcher with said rocket. He glares at the open door that he knows Tony will walk through.

_"Yinsen!"_

"Tony! No!" Bruce shouts, jumping to his feet and staring disparingly at the TV.

_"Yinsen!"_

_"Watch out!"_

Tony wheels back, nearly colliding with the rocket that would have killed him. He spins, looking at Raza with hate before loading his left arm with a rocket himself and firing, letting rocks tumble down and cloud Raza with dust as he lunges to Yinsen, dropping to his knees next to him.

_"Stark." _Yinsen murmers, recognizing Tony as he pushes the metal mask upward, showing his face which was slick with sweat.

_"Come on, we've got to go…Move for me, come on. We got a plan, we're going to stick to it." _Yinsen looks at Tony through the lashes of his eyes as he breaths weakly.

_"This was always the plan, Stark."_

"What?" Steve whispers, swallowing back emotions.

_"Come on, you're gonna' go see your family. Get up."_

_"My family is dead. I'm going to see them now, Stark." _

Tony's lip quivers and he's about to say something, but fails, swallowing thickly as Yinsen leans back on the sacks of sand.

_"It's okay. I want this…I want this…" _ Yinsen breaths softly while Tony gives a huff of breath.

_"'Thank you for saving me." _Tony speaks very quietly, hiding the wraspy tone of his voice.

_"Don't waste it. Don't waste your life."_

Tony stares, eyes glazed as Yinsen pants one more time before his head dropps back against the sack with his mouth slightly open, obviously dead.

Tony's expression darkens and he turns abruptly, anger and rage all over his fetures.

"Oh no…They'd better run." Clint laughs bitterly, understanding the emotion on Tony's face as the scene changes.

_Scene change._

They're waiting. The terriorists are at the enterence of the cave, weapons and missiles pointed toward the only opening as they whipe their sweaty hands, breathing in fear. The footsteps grow louder and louder before Tony stands at the enterence of the cave.

They shout and bullets rain off of Tony in a frenzy, the force pushing him back a few feet as slowly the display ends, leaving Tony standing there.

_"My turn."_ He growls, voice oddly dark with hate as he heaves, lifting his arms and sending out a blast of fire, thrusting his arms in a sweeping arc and setting anything ablaze withen the reach of his plume. People scream, one man rolls away, clutching his face in brutal agony.

He walks, letting the flames feed on weapons and other machines withen reach, he sends it to the missiles, burning cases of wood that hold other explosives inside.

A turret is mounted on a hill, people out of the fire's reach start shooting, the turret joins in, and with one lucky hit the back support breaks slightly, sending him to his knees.

Missiles, bombs and more ignite behind him, he forces himself upright, fumbling for a button o nhis left arm before he is suddenly propelled upward into the way of the missiles and explosions. He flies high above, the jets on his feet pushing him into a gently arc in the air out of the way of the explosions as he blasts out over the sand.

The jets die, and he starts falling, landing with the sand with a lou 'oomf' as he hits. Metal breaking and busting off as he is buried to his chest in the sand.

He groans, lifting is arms and slamming them into the sand, pulling them free and tugging the metal mask free of his sweaty and slightly bleeding face. He groans again, eyes drifting close from exhaustion as he leans back, smiling in relief.

"So….He's free?" Steve asked, and Clint sighed, Natasha looking at him with a slightly sad frown.

"No- not yet."

He's walking in the sand, weak and tires. He has a jacket from before over his head and is bleeding slightly. He stumbles as he walks down a dune, sand sticking to him from the sweat and he nearly falls over again, arms and legs trembling.

He stumbles and looks around with bleary eyes as he hears something faint, a chopper? Then, a large helicopter rises from behind the bank he had just stumbled down.

_"Hey!" _He screams, waving his arms around before dropping to his knees in relief, grinning like a fool and finally laughing.

_"How was the 'Fun-vee?'" _Rhodey asks, running down to Tony before grabbing Tony and pulling him close in a hug, blinking quickly to hold back tears.

_"Next time, you ride with me, okay?"_

* * *

**Please review! Thanks!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sorry about the delay. I mentioned why in underrate Risk's, but if you don't like or read that, i'll explain now. Anyways, i was all finished with this chapter, about to connect to the internet to post it when POOF- one of those freakin' windows updates restarts my entire computer, and my story is GONE.**_

_**frustration beyond words.**_

* * *

_"Miss Potts?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Can I speak to you for a moment?"_

The movie continued on, the others not really paying attention as they were still processing what exactly just happened, Natasha and Bruce speaking in hushed tones, Clint staring out a window while Thor stared at the screen with Steve, slightly dazed and not exactly understanding what they were seeing.

_"I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."_

_"I'm not a reporter."_

By this time Clint managed to glance at the screen, stiffening and before he could react, he had already jumped to his feet, the others looking at him in alarm.

"It's Coulson!" Clint shouted, pointing while the others looked at the movie in alarm.

_"I'm agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."_

_"That's quite a mouthful."_

_"I know. We're working on it."_

"Son of a-" Clint cursed, Natasha swatting him in the same spat as before with enough force for him to yelp and fall off of his couch perch.

"He was already working to get Tony? Before he made the suit?" Bruce asked, slightly alarmed at the interest SHIELD was showing.

"You have _no _idea." Natasha dryly stated, looking at Pepper and Phil exchange words.

_"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA…" _Pepper trailed off, looking pointedly at Phil, who didn't show emotion.

_'We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."_

_"…I'll put something in the book, shall I?_

_"Thank you."_

"That was…"

"Odd." Bruce added as Phil walked off the screen.

"Freaky as Hell." Clint mentioned from his spot on the floor.

"- Unexpected." Steve ended his sentence, watching as Tony was walking towards the podium, cheeseburger in his one hand in the sling, eying everyone and then the steps.

_"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?"_ He spontaneously asked, slowly sinking to the ground while confused reporters looked at each other.

_"Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can…a little less formal….and…"_

Tony watched them all sink down, taking a bite out of his cheeseburger as he waited.

_'What's up with the love-in?" _Rhodey asks, next to Pepper as they watch with a frown.

_"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to."_

It was back to Tony, who was looking around and carefully thinking his words before speaking, and it seemed…more friendly if anything, while sitting down.

_"I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father."_

"Why did the man of Iron speak in such way?" Thor asked, confused and Steve shrugged, watching again.

_"There's questions that I would have asked him I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted…if he ever had doubts…Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels…"_

"Ouch." Clint winced from the obvious insult to Tony's dad, noticing the glazed look in Tony's eye before he cleared his throat and continued on.

_"I saw young Americans killed…by the very weapons I created to defend them, and protect them…And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability…" _Tony's voice was now strained.

_"Mr. Stark!"_

_"Hey, Ben."_

_"What happened over there?" _The reporter named Ben shouts, looking over the heads of others, as Tony stalls a moment, coldly responding, voice frosty.

_"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world, then just making things that blow up…"_

"No way- he's going to do it?" Bruce asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"He's doing it." Natasha agreed, leaning forward to watch.

_"And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down-" _He rose, people shouting and questions tumbling over to him, and Obadiah from the side quickly began to walk over, trying to take control of the situation.

"Trying to save his job- bastard." Clint cursed, and Steve frowned.

"Hey guys- if this Obadiah guy is so important to Stark's industry, how come I've never heard of him?" Steve asked with a frown, Clint and Natasha immediately sharing a look from over the arm rest of the sofa.

"Guys?" Steve asked, warily awaiting the answer.

"You'll see." Clint muttered.

_"-the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be, what direction it should take, one that that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good, for this country as well."_

Obadiah shoves Tony out of the way, taking control of the podium and trying to save what Tony started, the later walking away without a single look of regret on his face.

_"What we should take away from this, is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever."_

"Bastar- Ow! Tasha!"

_"We're going to have a little internal discussion, and we'll get back to you with the follow-up." _Obadiah smiles before stalking away, smile falling into a scowl as he approached a guard by a room.

_"Where is he?"_

_"He's inside."_

Obadiah walks in, glaring at Tony who doesn't look concerned in the slightest.

_"Well, that…That went well."_

_"Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?"_ Tony mentioned, not looking at Obadiah who was now pacing.

_"Your head? What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna' be tomorrow?" _He stresses, and the others wait, knowing there's going to be a comeback, a witty saying or something along the lines.

_"Optimistically, 40 points."_

_"At minimum!"_

_"Yep."_

Obadiah scowls, and crosses his arms, glaring at Tony.

_"Tony, we're a weapons manufacturer." _

_"Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy."_

"Amen." Clint muttered, and Natasha didn't have the heart to hit him- something had built up in her throat in that last sentence.

_"That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons!"_

Obadiah stresses, but it's obvious that Tony has already decided.

_"It's my name on the side of the building."_

"And ours." Clint mentions, this time- getting the swat.

_"And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos!"_

_"Not based on what I saw. We're not doing a good enough job- we can do better…We're gonna' do something else…"_

_"Like what? You want us to make baby bottles?"_

_"…I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology…"_

_"Come on! The arc reactor? That's a publicity stunt! Tony…come on, we built that thing to shut the hippies up!"_

_"It. Works."_

_"Yeah! As a science project!"_

"You know- I'm getting sick of this guy." Clint snapped, glaring at the screen, and Bruce nodded.

"He seems like a bully." Steve offered his opinion, Thor grunting in approval.

_"The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?"_

_"Maybe." _Tony stated, cryptic, and Obadiah scowled, continuing to pace.

_"Am I right? We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what?"_

_"Thirty years."_

_"That's what they say."_

Tony starred at Obadiah, who was rather horrible at trying to hide his longing to see the reactor planted in Tony's chest, by the way he kept glancing towards the ever so slight glow.

_"Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you?"_

_"Never mind who told me, show me." _Obadiah urged, and Tony looked at him, not budging, and Obadiah swayed.

_"It's Rhodey or Pepper." _Tony stated lowly, and Obadiah shifter.

_"I want to see it."_

_"Okay…Rhodey."_

_"Okay."_

_"Okay?"_

And suddenly they were looking at it, Tony looking at Obadiah, as if daring him to ask further while the older man was in awe, stopping his cigar as he looked at the glowing blue light that illuminated the area.

_"It works." _Tony stated lowly, seemingly bringing the other out of his thoughts as he met Tony's eyes.

"I don't trust him." Steve frowned, and Thor gave a wary nod, agreeing with him.

_"Listen to me, Tony. We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do, if we stick together, like your father and I…I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up, okay?"_

"He's manipulating him! That sick ba- Natasha! Quit it!"

_"But if I had…"_

_"Tony. Tony no more of this 'ready, fire, aim' business. You understand me?"_

_"…That was Dad's line."_

"What?" Steve asked, alarmed as he sat up, looking at the screen as Clint continued to rant and stare at the other near bald man.

_"you gotta' let me handle this. We're gonna' have to play a whole different kind of ball now. We're going to have to take a lot of heat…I want you to promise me, that you're going to lay low."_

"This is Tony we're talking about." Clint muttered under his breath, just out of reach of Natasha.

_Scene change._

Pepper's in the main living room, wincing as a loud TV is broadcasting, Clint scowls as he recognizes the rude, sick, and infuriating programme he spotted on Comedy Central.

"_That _show?" Natasha scowls, wrinkling her nose as she recognizes the slightly sweaty man at the main desk.

"What's wrong with it?" Steve asked with a frown, finding it slightly disorientating how a movie was showing another movie.

_"Stark industries!"_

"_And_ here we go." Clint groaned, bowing his head into a pillow.

_"I've got one recommendation! Ready? Ready? Sell, sell, sell!"_

Already the twisting screen and odd sounds on the tracks being imputed was causing Thor to recoil, and Bruce to wrinkle his nose in distaste.

_"Abandon ship! Does the Hindenburg ring any bells?"_

"Oh, that was just _cold."_ Clint scowls, crossing his arms while Steve looked like he had been struck.

"The- the Hindenburg?" Steve asked, glaring at the TV.

"It was when a-"

"I know what it is!" Steve snapped, probably upset with the event.

_"Let me show you the new Stark Industries business plan!" _The sound of a toilet and other obnoxious sound were heard, Pepper on the screen wincing.

_"Look! That's a weapons company that doesn't make weapons!"_

A loud ring of the PA caused Pepper to turn away, TV turning to mute as she approached, hitting a button and listening to Tony's crackling voice over the PA- AKA, Jarvis.

_"Pepper. How big are your hands?" _Tony demanded suddenly, and Clint cackled as Steve blushed ever so slightly, turning away and hoping it wouldn't be…_another_ one…

_"What?"_

_"How big are your hands?"_

_"I don't understand why…"_

_"Get down here. I need you." _Tony sighed over the com, losing the link while Pepper confusedly made her way to the stairs, eventually typing in the pass code to open the door to Tony's lab.

She turned, opening the door and nearly stopping, staring at Tony who was bare chest, lying back on a chair with several electrodes hooking him up to several machines, a heart monitor being the main one.

"Shit." Clint muttered, staring at Tony who suddenly looked _very_ impressive, and sad at the same time.

_"Hey…Let's see them, show me your hands." _He offered, trying to coax her into saying something as she walked ever so slightly forward.

_"Oh wow, they are small. Very petite, indeed…..I just need your help for a sec…"_

_"Oh my God, is that the thing that's keeping you alive?"_

_"It was, it is now an antique."_

Tony murmured, now shifting a new reactor in his hands, a sleeker form with less mass and bulky metal parts.

_"This is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future. I'm swapping it up for an upgraded unit, and I just ran into a little speed bump…"_

_"Speed bump, what does that mean?"_

_"It's nothing. It's just a little snag…there's an exposed wire under this device…And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short." _Tony winced, a small grunt escaping his lips as he pulled on the old reactor, the heart rate monitor obviously jumping a little as he yanked, wires dragging further and further out of him.

"Oh! Gross!" Clint cried out, and Natasha wrinkled her nose. Steve stared- never had he ever looked at the gaping hole in Tony's chest, so impossibly large and deep- it must have been agonizing to get it…

"He's missing ribs and muscles to fit it in." Bruce supplied, noticing Steve staring.

_"It's fine!"_

_"What do you want me to do!" _Pepper cried out in obvious panic, flustered while Tony was now slightly annoyed as he was on limited time and in obvious pain.

_"Put that on the table over there." _Tony pointed out, giving her the reactor while another wire popped out, him jerking as it did so.

_"That, is irrelevant."_

_"Oh my god." _Pepper cried, voice getting higher pitch in worry.

She turned back, looking at Tony and the obvious hole in his chest in alarm, wringing her hands as he took steady breaths.

_"I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna' gently lift the wire out." _He stated calmly, not looking at her as she slowly edger her hand inside, trying to not look as her arm slowly made its way where blood and muscle used to be.

_"Is it safe?"_

_"Yeah, it should be fine. It's like Operation, you don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'"_

_"What do you mean 'Operation'!"_

_"It's just a game, never mind." _He soothed her panic as she had recoiled her arm, and he looked at her in the eyes.

_"Just gently lift the wire. Okay? Great."_

_"Okay…" _She breathed deeply, reaching forward before yanking her arm back, rubbing them in panic.

_"You know, I don't think that I'm qualified to do this."_

_"No- you're fine._ _You're the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're gonna' do great…is it too much of a problem to ask? 'Cause I'm…"_

"_Okay, okay." _Pepper sighed, closing her eyes as Tony looked at her, biting his lip and trying once more.

_"I really need your help here…"_

_"Okay…Oh, there's pus!" _She shrieked, wincing and looking away while Tony winced himself, head tilting back slightly as the others watched, head tilting slightly to the left as they watched the bizarre scene of Pepper's arm vanishing inside Tony's chest.

"Is this at all creepy to anyone e-"

"Yes Clint, now shut up."

_"It's not pus. It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body." _He spoke, voice calm and cool except for a slightly winded finish from the pain.

_"It smells!"_

_"Yeah, it does…the copper wire. The copper wire- you got it?" _Tony asked, relief in his eyes as Pepper gave a nod, obviously close to breaking down.

_"Okay, I got it! I got it!"_

_"Okay, you got it? Now, don't let it touch the sides when you're coming oUT!" _He shouts, yelping in pain and twitching, his back arching and the heart rate monitor pulsing rapidly with the shock.

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" _Pepper cried out, eyes threatening to start crying.

_"That's what I was trying to tell you before…okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't-" _He jerks back as the wire comes out in Peppers hand as well as a flat metal disk that hangs threateningly as the monitor's start to flash red.

_"There's a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled it out." _Tony deadpanned, looking now completely annoyed as he just wanted to groan while Pepper hurriedly put it away.

_"Oh God!"_

_"Okay, I was not expecting…Don't put it back in! Don't put in back in!" _Tony cried in alarm as she swung the magnet near him again.

_"Okay, what do I do? What's wrong?" _She asked again, noticing his hand which was tensing and relaxing while his jaw ground itself.

_"Nothing, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you tanked it out like a trout…"_

"Cardiac arrest?" Steve frowned.

"Heart attack." Bruce added absentmindedly, staring at the screen in interest.

_"What? You said it was safe!"_

_"We gotta' hurry. Take this, take this." _He sloppily handed her the new reactor, she hastily taking it, unsure on what to do.

_"You gotta' switch it out really quick." _He supplied, and she nodded, grasping one of his hands.

_"Okay, okay…Tony? It's going to be okay."_

_"What?"_ He asked in disbelief, expecting her to just shove it in and not comfort her.

" I second that!" Clint piped up, an expected yelp from him mere moments after.

_"It's gonna' be okay. I'm gonna' make this okay…"_

_"Okay, you're gonna' attack that to the base plate, Make sure you-"_

Another jump and he yelped, louder and in more pain than before, his back arching in pain as he panted, the frantic monitors slowly lowering as the new device glowed in its pot.

_"…Was that so hard? That was fun, right?" _He asked, breaking into laughter over Pepper's panting worried face.

_"Here, I got it. I got it." _Pepper supplied, helping him upright where he looked at the reactor, tapping it twice.

_"Nice." _He approved, looking at Pepper.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Yeah, I feel great." _He smirked, and she stared at him.

_"You okay?"_

_"Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." _Pepper tried to scowl, but the experience caught up with her, and she found herself smiling as Tony laughed at her expression.

_"I don't have anyone but you. Anyway…"_ Tony smartly responded back, following Pepper's eye to the old reactor where she turned it, looking at every angle.

_"What do you want me to do with this?"_ She asked, and he turned, looking at it before dismissing it, tossing on his shirt.

_"That?"_

"Yes that, Stark." Natasha coughed.

_"Destroy it."_

"What?" Everyone stated, Thor's voice the loudest as Bruce jumped to his feet, looking like someone had just shot his dog.

_"You don't want to keep it?"_

_"Pepper, I've been called many things, 'nostalgic' is not one of them."_

_"…Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"_

_"That will be all, Miss Potts." _He nodded, and she turned, walking out with the clicks of her heels.

Tony watched her leave before looking at his desk with a frown.

_"Hey, Butterfingers, come here." _Said robot turned, its metal claw twisting as it looked at him with a sideways head, a beep alerting him that it was ready.

_"What's all this stuff doing on my desk? That's my phone, that's a picture of me and my dad. Right there- in the garbage, all of that stuff."_

"What?" Steve asked, alarmed once again, there had been too many close calls with the 'dad' thing being mentioned. What was so wrong with Howard?

"He…Howard changed." Bruce supplied the confused captain.

Natasha couldn't agree more.

* * *

**Please review! Thanks!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey! I'm back- i've worked my butt off for this, and amazingly enough, i'm actually working a bit of a plot in here. Keep your eyes open!**_

* * *

_Scene change._

Rhodey is standing in front of a half a dozen military men, walking up and down the line as he talked, a hanger in the background.

_"The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned?"_

"Oh- don't you dare say unmanned." Clint mumbled under his breath, eyes fixated on the screen.

_"I'll tell you, in my experiences, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment."_

"Amen! I want to meet with this ma- Natasha! Stop it! Ow!"

_"Colonel? Why not a pilot without the plane?" _Tony smirked, walking across the hanger towards Rhodey who sighed.

_"Look who fell out of the sky. Mr. Tony Stark."_

_"Hello, sir."_

_"Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta' get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break, 1987."_

"They went to MIT together." Natasha added, noticing the confused looks on everyone.

"How is it that you know all of this?" Steve asked with a frown, and Natasha had a slight smile on her face.

"I was sent in to spy on Stark. I read his file."

_"That lovely lady you woke up with."_

_'Don't do that!"_

_"What was his name?"_

_"Don't do that."_

_"Was it Ivan?'_

_"Don't do that."_

_"Eh, they'll believe it."_

_"Don't do that."_

_"Okay."_

Tony sighed, getting annoyed with the repeated phrase.

_"Don't do that."_

_"Pleasure meeting you." _Tony nodded to the rank of men and women, watching with masked amusement.

_"Give us a couple minutes, you guys." _Rhodey ordered, the men and women marching away to observe or help with the landing of other planes.

_"I'm surprised." _Rhodey confessed as they started walking, Tony lifting one eyebrow and looking at him.

_"Why?"_

_"I swear, I didn't expect to see you walking around so soon."_

_"I'm doing a little better than walking."_

"The suit? Is he making the suit?" Steve asked, and nobody said anything.

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Rhodey, I'm working on something big. I can to talk to you. I want you to be a part of it."_

_"You're about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy.."_

_"This is not for the military…I'm not… It's different."_

_"What? You're a humanitarian now or something?"_

_"I need you to listen to me."_

_"No, what you need is time to get your mind right…I'm serious."_

"He's not going to see a shrink, Rhodey." Clint muttered, dodging the fist.

"Shrink?" Steve asked in alarm, recognizing the term from his day even.

"Yeah- he's gotta' be screwed up after tha- Damn it Natasha!"

_"Okay."_

_"It's nice seeing you, Tony."_

_"Thanks…"_

_Scene Change_

Tony's sitting on a chair in his lab, frowning as he spun a little ways before halting.

_"…Jarvis? You up?"_

_"For you, sir, always."_

"Well, isn't he modest."

_"I'd like to open a new project file, index as Mark Two."_

_"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries Central Database?"_

_"Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"_

_"Working on a secret project, are we, sir?"_

_"I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands…Maybe in mine, it can actually do some good."_

_Scene Change._

They're working on a recognizable bit of metal, Tony working on the circuits while one of his robots is close to him, working next to him quickly.

_"Next. Up…Not in the boot, Dummy. Right here, you got me? Stay put…nice."_ Tony muttered, working on different areas while the robot attempted to stay in the same range of speed.

_"You're of no benefit at all, move down to the toe, I got this." _Tony noticed Dummy straining to help on the side and took his place, working at a rather tricky spot while Dummy worked further down, eventually running into each other.

_"Okay, I'm sorry, am I in your way? Up…Screw it, don't even more…you are a tragedy." _Tony stated, moving around the metal arm in an affectionate way as he continued to work on the boot, Dummy chirping next to him.

_Scene change._

Tony's walking out on a square platform, the boots making loud clanking noises as he walked out, looking at the camera filming.

_"Okay, let's do this right…Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive, you're on standby for fire safety." _Tony mentioned, glancing at said robot which enthusiastically lifted the fire extinguisher.

_"You, roll it…okay, activate hand controls. We're gonna' start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. And three…two…"_

"he's going to mess up so bad." Clint sniggered, Natasha not hitting him as her own lip twitched, awaiting the disaster to surely come.

_"One."_

Tony is propelled upwards, colliding loudly with the cement barrier before falling down out of sight with another loud crack. Dummy wastes no time before turning and dousing the area Tony just fell into with thick white foam, chirping happily.

It was silent for a total of two seconds before Clint fell off the couch, landing on his previous spot with his face pressed into the carpet to hide his near violent laughter. Then Natasha falls prey to the humorous aspect, laughing and infecting Bruce and Thor with the horrible sound.

Steve watched, chuckling lightly under his breath as he shows up on the platform again, ready to attempt again looking somewhat disgruntled, and the beginning of a bruise on his forehead.

_Scene Change._

Tony's sitting at a desk, the beginning of a flight stabilizer on his hand with wires snaking their way up his arm in an odd design as they could hear loud clicking of heels on tile.

_"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?"_

_"Yeah, everything's…what?"_ Tony blinked, noticing her disapproving frown as she looks at him, he blinks, not understanding in the slightest.

_"Obadiah's upstairs."_

_"Great!"_

_"What would you like me to tell him?"_

_"Great, I'll be up in a bit." _He shrugged off, tweaking two wires while Pepper sighed, not turning away as curiosity overtook her.

_"I thought you said you were done making weapons."_

_"It isn't." _He inserted before she could rant, and she lifted one eyebrow as he lifted his arm as if to test it.

_"This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmle-"_

The repulse glows before sending off a high energy blast, sending chunks and things from the table high into the air and knocking Tony off his stool into the wall, blinking in surprise.

Pepper looks at him in shock, hands pressed over her ears.

By this point, Clint was near tears with laughter.

"That woman deserves a medal." Steve mumbles and Natasha resorts to smacking Clint with a pillow to silence him.

_Scene Change._

_"How'd it go?" _Tony asked, walking up the stairs and looking at Obadiah who played the piano without a care, looking away without responding.

_"It went that bad, huh?"_

_"Just because I brought pizza back from New York, doesn't mean it went bad."_

_"Sure it doesn't. Oh boy."_

Tony rolled his eyes, flopping onto the couch and taking a slice.

_"It would have done better if you were there." _Obadiah adds, getting up from the piano to sit next to him.

_"You told me to lay low. That's what I've been doing. I lay low and you take care of all…"_

_"Hey, come on. In public, the press. This was a board of directors meeting."_

_"This was a board of directors meeting?"_

_"The board is claiming you have posttraumatic stress…they're filling an injunction."_

_"A what?"_

_"They want to lock you out."_

"Harsh." Clint winced, and the others said nothing.

_"Why, 'cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."_

_"Fifty-six and a half."_

_"It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company."_

_"Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."_

_"I'm being responsible!"_

_"That's a new direction for me, for the company. I mean, me on the company's behalf being responsible for the way that…" _Obadiah awkwardly stated, trying to fix his slip up.

_"This is great." _Tony scowled, flopping back onto the couch.

_"Oh, come on Tony. Tony…"_ Obadiah groaned, Tony getting up and stalking towards the stairs.

_"I'll be in the shop."_

_"Hey, hey! Tony listen! I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analyze that, you know, draw up some specs." _Obadiah nodded to the reactor, in which Tony's expression turned icy.

_"No. No, absolutely not."_

_"It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"_

_"This one stays with me. That's it, Obie. Forget it."_

_"All right, well, this stays with me, then." _Obadiah scowled, stealing the rest of the pizza before sighing and opening it out towards Tony.

_"Go on, here, you can have a piece- take two."_

_"Thank you."_

_"You mind if I come down there and see what you're working on?"_

_"Good night, Obie."_

_Scene change._

Tony's back on the test platform, the newly built repulsors on his arm add to the bulky appearance as he awkwardly readies himself, looking around before focusing on the camera again.

_"Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety, if you douse me again, and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."_

Tony warned, said robot looking down sheepishly as Tony exhaled loudly, reading himself.

_"All right…nice and easy…seriously, just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity."_

"Makes you wonder how fast he'd slam into a wall at 50%." Clint mused, ducking from the hit.

_"And…three, two, one…" _He hovered, waving arms to stabilize him as he dropped back down hard on the platform, glancing at the excited Dummy.

_"Please don't follow me around with it, either. 'Cause I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously…Just stand down! If something happens, then come in. And again, let's bring it up to 2.5%." _He sighed, turning and glancing at the camera before taking deep breaths.

_"And- three…two…one…"_

Tony exhaled as he was propelled into the air, twisting and unwantingly slid towards the exit ramp, and he twisted, trying to stay away.

_"Okay, this is where I don't want to be!" _Tony yelped, wincing as he drifted above his row of sports cars, blasters just licking the paint job.

_"Not the car- not the car! Table!" _He cried out, a slightly manic grin on his face as he blasted above the table, papers and others things on his desk fly away.

_"Could be worse! Could be worse! We're fine! Okay." _Tony sighed as he moved over You who rotated to watch as Tony moved by the landing platform, circling before dropping heavily with a thud, taking another step to regain his balance.

_"No!" _He cried, watching Dummy who was near pressing the button, and he sighed in relief as his robot looked away sheepishly.

_"Yeah, I can fly."_

_Scene Change._

Tony is standing on a platform while robots bustle around him, tugging and securing a suit as it set itself on him, more buttons and locks then what they were used to.

_"Jarvis? Are you there?"_

_"At your service, sir."_

_"Engage heads up display…check, Import all preferences from home interface."_

_"Will do, sir."_

"What's that mean?" Steve asked with a frown as Tony observed the room with Jarvis' information glowing on the screen.

"He's loading Jarvis onto the suit- so he has information about anything he sees." Bruce offered, watching intently.

_"All right, what do you say?"_

_"I have indeed been uploaded, sir. We're online and ready."_

_"Can we start the virtual walk-around?"_

_"Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."_

_"Do a check on control surfaces."_

_"As you wish…Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."_

"Oh no…" Bruce groaned, running his hand through his hair in alarm.

_"Yeah, tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."_

_"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is-"_

_"Jarvis! Sometimes you got to run, before you can walk."_

"…What? That makes literally no sen- Ouch! Natasha the next time you get me I'm dismantling your gun- Ouch! Dam- ow! Stop it!"

_"Ready in three, two one."_

Tony blasts forward, shouting in joy as he shoots out of the exit ramp, a rush of speed and yellow light following him.

He laughs, sweeping across the sky and Jarvis zooming in on the pier, locking onto two children who drop their ice cream in shock, watching him.

"You know- this Iron Man theme song, it isn't half bad." Bruce mused, Clint nodding while warily watching Natasha who was clutching her new weapon as she had discarded the pillow- a popcorn bowl.

_"All right, let's see what this thing can do. What's SR-71's record?"_

_"The altitude record for fined wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir."_

_"Records are made to be broken! Come on!'_

"NO! At that height the ice buildup is too much for any cra- damn it Stark!" Clint shouted in frustration as he blasted into the sky, ice thinly layering on him before the screen flashed red.

_"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring."_

_"Keep going!"_

"How is it, that Friend Tony has not fallen victim to his many foolish quests?" Thor asked in alarm as Tony continued to push upwards.

_"We iced up, Jarvis! Deploy flaps! Jarvis! Come on- we got to break the ice!"_ Tony shouts, looking at the flickering screen before grabbing a lever on his side and twisting it, manually opening the flaps and regaining power, just saving himself from smashing into the sky while he shouts in joy, theme song loud.

He moved, circling over a landing pad at his house.

_"Kill power."_

He dropped, maybe a little too hard- falling through the ground, smashing into the grand piano and into a Shelby car in his lab, Dummy spinning around, staring before setting off his fire extinguisher.

_Scene Change._

Tony is walking through his lab, wincing with an icepack to his head before flopping onto his desk, spotting a small package on his desk wrapped in brown paper with his name, written in Pepper's handwriting.

"A gift?" Thor asked with a frown, tilting his head as Tony pulls it apart, a smile stretching on his face as he sees a glass case with the old Reactor in it, with a delicate engraving on it stating 'Proof Tony Stark has a Heart.'

"I recognize that." Steve mentioned, the others looking at him in confusion.

"Well- err, Tony was in his room…and Fury _really_ wanted the report, so I shoved him out of his bed, and that was on the side table- only thing in the room." Steve shrugged, before each stilled slightly, swallowing a small sense of guilt.

Maybe that was the only gift Tony ever got?

_Scene Change_

The sands of Afghanistan, people bustling around, pulling out chunks of metal, piecing together something large…

"No! They're remaking the suit!" Bruce shouted, jumping up but already the scene had shifted to Tony, sitting in his lab already, frowning and looking at blueprints.

_"Notes, main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic, I'm thinking icing is the probable factor."_

_"A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the ecosystems."_

"Cheeky…"

_"Connect to the sys. Co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio. Got it?"_

_"Yes, shall I render using proposed specifications?"_

_"Thrill me." _Tony shrugged, rolling around and glancing at the TV, looking at the report for once.

"Heh- Twilight zone. Watching TV watching T- Ouch! Natasha! That is _not _plasti- Ow!'

Tony frowned, taking a sip from his drink in one hand while exposing an ice pack strapped to his left bicep.

_"Tonight's red-hot carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the firefighter's family fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."_

_"Jarvis, we get an invite for that?"_

_"I have no record of an invitation, sir." _This caused Tony to frown and watch more closely as the woman continued on.

_"…Hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from Posttraumatic stress, and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight."_

"They just jinxed it." Clint deadpanned, ignoring Steve's smile and Thor's confused look.

_"The render is complete." _Jarvis informs as Tony takes another sip of his drink.

Tony looks over at one of his cars, smiling at the flame paint and then looked back at the suit.

_"Tell you what, throw a little hot-rod red in there.'_

_"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile…the render is complete." _Jarvis offers, projecting a screen model in which Tony nodded to.

_"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it, paint it."_

_"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."_

_"Don't wait up for me, honey." _Tony smirked, getting up and walking out.

"to the party!" Clint shouted, yelping as the bowl collided thickly with his arm.

"God- what is that thing made out of!" Clint whimpered as Natasha smirked, tapping her nails against the obnoxiously painted red and gold bowl.

"Leftover titanium-gold alloy." Bruce offered, blushing at the stares- "Tony kept breaking the glass ones when he was drunk."

"Titanium-gold alloy? How hard is that, lima bean?" Clint moaned, and Natasha grew a wicked smirk on her face.

"it's what his suits made out of."

"…Oh god, kill me now. Anything is better than a bored assassin with an Iron Man bowl- OW!"

* * *

**_Hah! Hoped you like it! Next i'll update Underrate Risk's or post maybe a few challenges, you know, the usual._**

**_Review! Please! _**

**_(Tell me your theories on how the disk appeared in the first place, lets see if any of you are thinking what i'm planning. :) )_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Hey! I'm not dead!_**

**_Anyways, this got delayed due to the INSANE amount of challenge's i've been given (24 right now) If you can, could you lay off the challenges for a while? Please?_**

**_Anyways, a few of you thought i abbandoned this. I'm going to tell you now, that if i EVER, abbandon a story, i at least give you the honesty of telling you i have, not just leaving it along._**

**_Thanks, and sorry for the wait._**

* * *

A sleek Audi R8 roared around the streets at night, pulling up quickly and stopping inches away from a young man in a red vest who eyes the car with a gobsmaked expression before catching the keys and driving it away.

"That's what cars look like?" Steve asked in surprise and slight awe- so much better then the ones he was used to.

"Not all of them look good, take the Kia for example." Clint added, and Bruce made an affronted sound.

"Hey! The Kia is a well respected and engineered car!" Bruce defended and Clint looked at him exasperated.

"They gave out that 100 mile warranty for a reason Bruce!"

"Friends, may we resume the movie?" Thor asked, bored of the conversation he knew nothing about.

_Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community…" _

Obadiah stops talking from the podium as news men turn, looking eagerly as Tony walks up purposefully with a blank face.

_"Hey, Tony, remember me?" _The newswoman asked eagerly and Tony doesn't even look.

_"Sure don't." _He responds, brushing right past her.

Steve frowned while Thor grinned slightly at that.

_"You look great, Hef."_

_"We're going to have a great quarter."_

_"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" _Tony smirks, and Obadiah gives him a tight smile.

_"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise."_

_"I'll see you inside."_

_"Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them."_

_"You got it. Just cabin fever. I'll just be a minute." _Tony brushes off, walking inside a well lit place while waltzing to the bar.

"He's not happy. Does he not wish for Friend Stark's presence?" Thor asked while Natasha's eyes narrowed.

"I don't like him." Surprisingly enough, it was Steve who said that, and Natasha said nothing.

_"Give me a Scotch. I'm starving."_

_"Mr. Stark?"_

Tony turns, looking at the familiar agent.

"Dang it! How the hell is he- You know, I'm not even going to ask anymore." Clint growled, hushing himself when he noticed a hand moving towards a bowl.

_"Yeah?"_

_"Agent Coulson."_

_"Oh, yeah, yeah yeah. The guy from the…"_

_"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."_

_"God, you need a new name for that."_

_"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."_

_"Let's just put something on the books."_

_"How about the 24th at 7:00 p.m. at Stark Industries?"_

Tony looks distracted as he catches sight of Pepper in a stunning long blue strapless dress.

_"Tell you what, you got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll make a date."_

"He's not going to show up." Bruce sighed.

He walks away from the bar, making his way to where Pepper finished speaking with someone before turning, and sighing.

_"You look fantastic! I didn't recognize you." _Tony grins, and Pepper rolls her eyes.

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"Just avoiding government agents."_

"How does he say that so casually?" Steve muttered and Clint grinned.

_"Are you by yourself?"_

_"Yes. Where'd you get that dress?"_

_"Oh, it was a birthday present."_

"I believe that is the gift Lady Pepper bought for herself, from Friend Tony." Thor added, and Bruce lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh? Why do you think that?" Natasha asked, noticing the dress from one time she had to visit Pepper's home to get papers when she was undercover.

"Lady Sif often refused to purchase new weapons unless under a name or gift of another." Thor explained, even though it completely washed over their heads.

_"That's great."_

_"From you, actually."_

_"Well I got great taste."_

_"Yes."_

_"You want to dance?"_

"Tony can dance?" This time, it was Steve's turn to look impressed.

"It's a required gift for things like that." Clint shrugged, adding a little dismissive wave for effect.

_"Oh, no."_

_"All right, come on."_

_"Thank you, no." _she sighed, not wanting to as much as Tony insisted.

They awkwardly started dancing with smooth grace to the dance, and Pepper constantly looked around, trying not to look at Tony, who was right in front of her.

"Poor girl." Bruce muttered.

_"Am I making you uncomfortable?"_

_"No. No. I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work with in a dress with no back."_

_"You look great and you smell great."_

_"Oh God."_

_"But I could fire you if that would take the edge off."_

_"I actually don't think that you could tie your shoes without me."_

_"I'd make it a week."_

_"Sure."_

_"Really?"_

_"What's your Social Security number?"_

Tony struggles, jaw twitching as he tries to remember.

_"Five."_

_"Five?"_

_"Right."_

_"Right. You're missing just a couple of digits there."_

_"The other eight?"_

_"So I got you for the other eight."_

"How is it that this guy can create a giant flying suit of metal armor?"

"I- I don't know." Clint groaned to Steve's baffled question.

_"How about a little air."_

_"Yes, I need some air."_

_Scene change._

They are outside, on the top of a beautiful balcony with a scenic look outwards where Pepper is by the railing and Tony shuffles nearby awkwardly.

_"That was totally harmless."_

_"Totally harmless." _Tony clarifies, and Pepper is stressing slightly while Tony is so near.

_"It was totally not harmless, by the way."_

_"We're dancing. No one's even watching. " _

"Anybody recognize that face?" Clint asked in which everybody looked at and groaned.

"That's the I-Screwed-up-bad face." Clint clarified to the bemused Thor, who only chuckled in response.

_"Everybody who I work with…"_

_"No, you know why?"_

_"I think you lost objectivity. I think they just…people…we just danced."_

_"No, it was not just a dance. You don't understand because you're you." _Pepper stressed, it was obvious that they were getting worked up and Pepper was getting desperate.

_"And everybody knows exactly who you are, and how you are with girls, and all of that, which is completely fine…" _She stressed, voice cracking in some spots that gave away her close call to crying.

_"But, you know, then me, you're my boss…and I'm dancing with you."_

_"I don't think it was taken that way." _Tony interjects, and Pepper's lips twitched.

_"Because it makes me look like the one who's trying to…"_

_"I just think you're overstating it."_

_"You know, and we're here…and then I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and then we were dancing like that and…" _

"She's going to cry! She's going to cry! Do something Sta-" Clint yelped while Thor rolled his eyes, he recognized the look on Lady Pepper's face as one similar to when he awoke after a painful battle with Jane looking over him.

Pepper leaned in slightly just as he did before she jerked back, he followed, both shifting while she cleared her throat.

_"I would like a drink, please."_

_"Got it, okay." _He reports, turning and nearly dashing towards the door as Pepper calls after him.

_"I would like a vodka martini, please."_

"She's going to want it dry." Natasha muttered.

_"Okay."_

_"Very dry with olives, a lot of olives. Like, at least three olives."_

_Scene Change._

_"Two vodka martinis, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast."_

Tony sticks a bill into the tip jar, making sure the man sees before he sprints away, hurrying to make the drink.

"_Make one of them dirty, will you?"_ He shouts after the man, before a familiar woman stalks up, a hateful look in her eye.

"Hey! It is that lady from before- Christine Everheart, right?" Steve asked, shifting in his seat while Bruce shot him a lifted eyebrow, as to _why_ he would remember that.

_"Wow. Tony Stark."_

_"Oh, hey. "_

_"Fancy seeing you here."_

_"Carrie."_

"Christine." Clint sing-songed to Tony on screen.

_"Christine."_

_"That's right." _He smoothes out, and the girl grits her teeth.

_"You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?"_

_"Panic, I would say panic is my reaction."_

_"'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity." _She growls, holding up pictures in which Tony stares, eyes narrowing as the screen shows pictures of people hauling weapon shipments with his company's logo on them.

"…Shit." Clint cursed while the warm atmosphere seemed to chill slightly.

_"Yeah. They just put my name on the invitation. I don't know what to tell you."_

_"I actually almost bought it, hook, line, and sinker." _She stated, shaking her head with sorrow filled disbelief.

_"I was out of town for a couple months, in case you didn't hear."_ He shrugged.

_"Is this what you call accountability?" _She growls and he turns to the bar again.

_"It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" _She asks, and Tony stiffens, spinning back and looking at the photos more closely.

"Gulmira?" Thor frowned, the odd word stiffly rolling on his tongue.

"That's Yinsen's home." Bruce stiffly clarified voice dead as understanding hit each and every Avenger.

"He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?" Steve croaked, and nobody said anything.

_"When were these taken?"_ He asks, all joking gone as his voice is dead serious.

"Crap." Clint muttered, reclining back quickly.

_"Yesterday."_

_"I didn't approve any shipment."_

_"Well, your company did."_

_"Well, I'm not my company."_

Tony's walking up to Obadiah whose talking to someone else before Tony pulls him away.

_"Please, do you mind?"_

_"Have you seen these pictures? What's going on in Gulmira?"_

_"Tony, Tony." _ Obadiah sighs before smiling for the press as Tony does the same, although it is strained.

_"You can't afford to be this naïve."_

"Manipulative little Bastard." Clint hissed in frustration while Natasha restrained him with one hand.

_"You know what? I was naïve before, when they said 'here's the line. We don't cross it."_

_"This is how we do business."_

_"If we're double-dealing under the table…"_

_"Are we?" _Tony challenges while reporters shout at them as they descend down the steps.

_"Tony! You're picture, please!"_

_"Take a picture, come on. Picture time!" _ Obadiah lightly presses, giving a wide grin while Tony doesn't, and keeps a blank face on that masked his anger.

_"Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you." _Obadiah murmured just loud enough for Tony to hear before waving to the cameras and walking towards a limo.

_"No." _Tony muttered in response, jaw tense.

"No- he filed an _injunction_ against him-?" Clint spat, and Thor shifted, looking upset.

"Friend Clint, I do not-"

"It means that Stane took legal action to make whatever Tony said void." Steve added, and Natasha and Clint shot him a look of surprise.

"What? Dictionary's aren't just 21st century!" He defended .

_ Scene change._

A woman is on the TV, broadcasting on a live report.

_"The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be describes as a descent into hell, into a modern day Heart of Darkness."_

Tony looks up from having the repulsor on his arm, fiddling with one of the locking and latching mechanisms as his eyes focus on the TV and the anchorwoman.

_"Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power."_

Pictures flicker across of people struggling with heavy baskets and the occasional animal.

"Turn off the TV, Tony." Natasha muttered, causing Clint to look at her in confusion.

"He…get's…testy, when he sees things like that." Bruce rescued.

_"Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals, as the Ten Rings."_

Tony twisted again, and a hum from the repulsor made the room quiet a moment.

_"As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees."_

Tony was walking now, the repulsor on one arm as he softly padded nearby the bar, before stopping.

_"Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents."_

He turns, facing the TV straight on now with a dark look in his eye.

_"-either forced to join their militia…"_

A loud explosion as a repulsor blast hits a nearby ceiling panel which dropped in a shower of plaster dust in front of the TV.

"Holy-!"

_"Desperate refuses clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, 'where are my mother and father?' There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help."_

He spins, teeth clenched as he blasts panels of glass blocking the access to his lab, face emotionless as he aims and fires, incinerating them to tiny grains of glass before aiming at the last one- more directly, his reflection.

That too shatters and he spins, eyes dark.

"Wait- he was aiming at _himself?"_ Steve shouted in alarm, while Thor gave a grave nod, causing Steve to fall back in stunned silence.

_Scene change._

Robots come out of the original lift off panel on the floor of his lab, securing the red and gold panels of his suit with mechanical winding noises. Tony drops his arms from the little grooves, metal sliding down his arms and clicking together tightly, his helmet sliding down and eyes light up in a blue glow…

_Scene change._

Tony is flying away in a long trail of white with incredible speed.

_Scene change._

The remainder of the Ten Rings rush around, pointing and shoving people aside with guns. Bombs are to be heard, not a great distance away. A man is forced away from his wife and son, shouting and reaching. The boy breaks free from the other's arms, rushing forward to his dad, screaming for him to stay. The leader of the Ten Rings shows, grabbing the boy and hurling him to the side.

"Let that kid go." Bruce growled, eyes flashing green, but that was as far as he could go.

The man turns, kicking the father brutally over and over until he is curled up on the ground, shaking.

"Stop it!" Steve shouts, just as the others showed their distress, a low keening noise from Clint as Natasha flinched.

More screaming as a red and gold blur drops hard with a metallic clang, eyes lurching upwards as he aims with repulsors and shooting all of the Ten Rings within sight.

"You better kill them, Stark." Clint muttered.

He lowered his arms as he notices the panicking locals, and sends out small targeting darts which hit all of the captors, the panicking people shushing down.

The young boy watches in awe as Tony marches forward, slamming his fist through a cement wall to grab the leader of the Ten Rings, who had fled in terror. He pulls out the man, throwing him In the centre of the ring of locals.

_"He's all yours." _Tony stated, voice the familiar mechanical drawl as he takes to the air, shooting high and out of sight, landing as a tank fires at him.

"I believe that weaponry device will not stand against the Man of Iron." Thor noted, seeing the large tank.

He stares at the tank, another shot and he twists to the left, the tank missile just missing him while he lifts his arm, a much smaller missile shooting out before a huge fiery explosion decimates the tank, causing an impressive cloud of fire. Gunshots do nothing as he walks past, setting missiles and other weapons alight as he destroys everything with his name on them.

"One of the only times I approve violence." Bruce muttered, while Steve's hands clenched into fists.

"Good riddance."

_Scene change._

_"What the hell was that?" _

A man asks from an air force base, looking at a large screen with a quickly moving red flashing dot.

_"were we cleared to go in there?"_.

"Air force? No- you have _got to be kidding_ me! He went through all of that to be caught by those government _idiots?"_ Clint shouted, jumping to his feet.

"Clint! Sit down!" Natasha snapped, and this time instead of a bowl, Thor reached up, grabbed Clint and gently but surely pushed him to his spot, ignoring Clint's squawk of protest.

_"No, they were using human shields. We never got the green light." _The man reports, looking at the obvious leader.

_"Put me through to State. They're going to be all over this."_

_"Get those monitors up!"_

_"We got a bogey!"_

_"Wasn't Air Force!"_

_"We got the CIA on the line?" _The man shouts.

_"I've got Langley on the line. They want to know if it's us."_

_"No! It definitely is not us, sir!" _The man with the earphones shouts.

_"It wasn't Navy."_

_"Wasn't Marines."_

_"I need answers! Can I please get eyes on the target?" _The man stresses.

"Where's SHIELD when you need them?" Steve muttered.

_Scene Change._

Tony is flying through the air- the clouds are long white strips at the speed he's going.

_"Negative, negative. Cannot identify." _A new face adds.

_"Get me Colonel Rhodes from the Weapons Development down here now!"_ The man from the base shouts.

_"We ran an ID check and cross-referenced with all known databases. We have nothing."_

_"Any higher altitude surveillance in the region?"_

_"We got an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area."_

_"So this thing just appeared out of nowhere?" _Rhodey asks, back on base as he spots the moving dot.

_"How come it didn't show up on the radar?"_

_"Got a minimal radar cross-section, sir."_

_"Is it stealth?" _The leader ordered, and the jets took a while observing the tiny spec.

_"No, sir. It's tiny."_

_"We think it's an unmanned aerial vehicle." _The other reported, and the leader turned, eyes on Rhodey.

_"Colonel, what are we dealing with here?" _The man asks, and Rhodey's hand goes to his phone.

_"Let me make a call."_

_Scene Change._

Tony blinks from inside the suit, frowning as he picked up the call.

_"Hello?"_

_"Tony?" _Rhodey's voice filters through the suit, and Tony turns his head, still flying as he has a normal conversation.

_"Who's this?"_

_"It's Rhodes."_

_"Sorry, hello?" _Tony tries again, the sound of air just too loud.

_"I said it's Rhodes."_

_"Speak up, please."_

Bruce snorted while Thor gave a smile, Natasha sighing as she had had one of these conversations before.

_"What in the hell is that noise?" _Rhodey curses on the other line, and Tony's lips flicker into a smile.

_"Oh, yeah, I'm driving with the top down."_

_"Yeah, well, I need your help right now."_

_ "It's funny how that works, huh?"_

_"Yeah, speaking of funny, we've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive."_

_"Well, that's a hot spot."_

_"Sounds like someone stepped in and did your job for you, huh?" _Rhodey asked, suspicion filtering through.

_"Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?" _Rhodey asked and Tony blinked.

_"I'm not, I was just jogging in the canyon."_

"Jogging? Really?" Bruce sighed, and Steve smiled at the mistake.

_"I thought you were driving."_

_"Right, I was driving to the canyon, where I'm going to jog."_

"Idiot."

_"You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?"_

_"Nope!" _Tony adds cheerily, while Rhodey watches the two jets lock onto target.

_"Bogey spotted!"_

_"Whiplash, come in hot."_

_"Okay, good, 'cause I'm staring at one right now, and it's about to be blown to kingdom come."_

Rhodey mutters, hanging up while Tony's eyes widen in the suit.

_Scene Change._

Tony looks over his shoulder as two jets appear behind him, he banks a sharp right, both jets swerving behind on his tail.

_"That's my exit."_

_"Ballroom, this is Whiplash One. I've got the bogey in my sights."_

The jet sends to base where the leader grabs a mic.

_"Whiplash One, what is it?"_

_"I've got no idea." _The jet answers, eyeing the small gold and red shape.

_"You have radio contact?"_

_"Non responsive, sir."_

_"Then you are clear to engage."_

Tony goes into double speed, darting up above the clouds in which the other follows.

_"Hit it!"_

_"That bogey just went supersonic!"_

_"I got a lock!"_

_"Inbound missile!"_

The man states, finger moving towards a weapon.

"He's going to stop." Thor hummed, and once again eyes found him, but none questioned the god of Thunder, as he had more single handed 'craft' experience then them.

Tony turns, looking over his shoulder before suddenly opening flaps, catching air and flying back between the two jets.

Nobody said anything to confirm Thor's hypothesis.

_"Holy!" _The jets curse, turning and circling around to try ad target it again.

_"That thing just jumped off the radar, sir." _The one adds to base, where the leader scowls.

_"The sat visual has been lost."_

_"No way that's a UAV." _

_"What is it?" _The leader asks to the mic.

_"I can't see anything. Whatever it was, it just bought the farm. I think bogey's been handled, sir."_

"Can't kill him that easily. God knows, I've tried." Natasha muttered.

_Scene Change._

Rhodey's phone goes off with a picture of Tony, and he takes it, activating it suspiciously.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hi, Rhodey, it's me."_

_"It's who?"_

_"I'm sorry, it is me." _Tony tried to clarify, face looking strained.

_"You asked. What you were asking about is me." _Tony added, and Rhodey shook his head with a frown.

_"No, see, this isn't a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?" _Rhodey harshly added, and Tony's teeth grunted together.

_"This is not a piece of equipment!_" Tony shouts, and Rhodey sits down, _"I'm in it! It's a suit! It's me!"_

Rhodey's eyes widen while the leader turns to face him.

"Tony sounds a little…desperate, doesn't he?" Steve asked, and Clint frowned.

"Yeah, but where would he hi- oh you have _got,_ to be kidding me."

_"Rhode, you got anything for me?" _He asks, and Rhodey turns back, looking at the people in front of the screen.

_"Mark your position and return to base."_

_"Roger that, Ballroom." _The jets report.

_Scene Change._

They turn, and something is exposed.

_"On your belly! It looks like a man!" _A jet adds in surprise as they see a red and gold man hugging a jet.

"hugging a jet? Really?" Bruce sighed, and Clint grinned.

"This is Stark. Next thing we know, he'll buy an elephant and name him Jumbo."

_"Shake him off! Roll! Roll!"_

Tony hands on for dear life, shouting out in his surprise as he is flung off, colliding with the wing of the following jet.

_"I'm hit! I'm hit!" _The jet shouts, and the base starts mumbling in panic.

_"It's confirmed. He has been hit!"_

"That was _not_ a hit!" Bruce shouted in frustration.

"Do you have something _against_ the milita- Never mind." Clint blinked, hurriedly looking at the TV.

_"Punch out! Punch out!"_

A chair is shot out of the falling jet, and the man fumbles for the latch.

_"Whiplash One down. Whiplash Two, do you see a chute?"_

_"Negative! No chute, no chute!"_

The man shouts, yanking on the locked parachute box while Tony turns, noticing the problem.

_"My chute's jammed!"_

_"Sir, I've got a visual on the bogey!"_ The other jet shouts as Tony dives, racing after the falling man.

_"Whiplash Two, reengage. If you get a clear shot, you take it!" _The leader snaps, and Rhodey steps forward, putting a hand on the mic.

_"Major, we don't even know what we're shooting at. Call off the Raptors."_

_"That thing just took out an F- inside a legal no fly zone! Whiplash Two, if you have a clear shot, take it!"_

_Scene Change._

Tony is inside his suit, and red warning lights are flashing on his screen as Jarvis' sound is heard.

_"You've been reengaged. Execute evasive maneuver." _Jarvis advises while Tony's jaw clenches.

"He's going for the chute." Natasha muttered in realization, Clint humming as he watched with a now tilted head.

_"Keep going!"_ Tony shouts, and he goes even faster, catching up with the flailing man and grabbing the chair, punching the metal on the shoot before jumping off, a large parachute following soon after.

_"Good chute! Good chute!" _The other man gasps in relief as Tony zooms away, out of sight as the room cheers.

Rhodey smiles, moving to the corner and calling again.

_"Tony, you still there?"_

_"Hey, thanks." _Tony pants breathlessly while Rhodey lets out a breath of relief.

_"Oh, my God, you crazy son of a bitch…You owe me a plane, you know that, right?"_

Tony laughs on the other side, issuing a barrel roll for fun. His laugh was joined by the throat laugh of Thor, and the others, now that the panic had been averted.

_"Yeah, well, technically, he hit me. Now, are you going to come by and see what I'm working on?"_

_"No, no no no no no, the less I know, the better." _Rhodey groaned, and then groaned again, this time even worse.

_"Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?"_

"Training exercise, it's their usual lie." Bruce muttered, while Steve's lips twitched.

_"Training exercise. Isn't that the usual BS?" _Tony asked with a grin while Rhodey playfully scowled.

"…That was creepy."

"Yeah, well, giant green rage monsters and mechanical humans think alike."

_"It's not that simple."_

"Seems that way for the military." Clint laughed, then froze, turning and looking at Natasha with something akin to awe.

"You..you never hit me…the entire time." He gasped, and Natasha's lips curled into a grin.

_Bam-mm-mm-_

"My mistake." She assured , the bowl echoing as Clint groaned, dropping onto his spot on the couch as his eyes refused to focus.

"I wonder if Tony's helmet rattles like that if he is hit hard enough." Steve added, and Natasha blinked, looking at the bowl.

"I think we need another test then."

_Bam-mm-mm-mm_

"…I hat-"

_Bamm-mm-m_

"GOD STOP IT!"

* * *

**Once again, sorry for the wait. I've had alot of things pop up.**

**Review! **

**~Oceanbreeze7**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey! Okay, the last chapter...wow.**

**Anyways, i'm NOT happy with the ending, so sometimes later i may change it.**

**Thanks!**

* * *

Rhodey is dressed in his military clothing, standing at a podium and blinking calmly at the flashes of cameras

_"An unfortunate training exercise-"_

Here, Clint couldn't help but snort, still rubbing his head from where he was sure he would gain a bruise."

"-_ involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured. As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."_

"Tony…" Steve sighed while Thor looked confused.

"I do not understand, wasn't Friend Stark's act of valor recognized as an action of bravery?"

"It's…Military wants to know everything, and they get upset when they don't know the smallest things." Bruce huffed, looking at the TV in disdain.

_Scene Change_

Pepper is walking down the stairs at the Stark Manor, walking towards his lab and typing in something at a key code, pausing when she hears Tony.

"Wait- there's _only_ a key code?" Steve asked in surprise, blinking while Bruce looked at him confused.

"I- wouldn't they have the thing that scans your eye? Or the fingerprint thing? Or-"

"Steve, We're living in a Sentiment house. Who's going to 'sneak in' when the house can kick you out?" Clint snorted, watching the TV.

_"Hey! "_

_"It is a tight fit, sir. Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt. "_

_"Be gentle. This is my first time. I designed this to come off, so... Hey. I really should be able to..."_

"Clint snorted, ducking the swung bowl and trying his best not to fall off of the couch laughing.

_"Please, try not to move, sir."_

Tony freezes, looking over as Pepper is staring at him, having walked in with him thrashing, trying to get the suit off of him.

_"What's going on here?" _Pepper asked, watching Tony balance precariously on a robotic arm.

_"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."_

This time, Clint actually did fall over cackling.

_"Are those bullet holes?"_

Pepper whispers in horror as Tony blinks, looking down at the marks on the suit.

_Scene Change._

The leader of the 10 Rings and Obadiah, Raza walking out to meet Obadiah who is dressed in a smart looking black suit, as well as his military men.

"OBADIAH!" Thor shouted, jumping to his feet in anger as he spotted Raza with Obadiah.

"THAT BACKSTABBING DISGRACE OF A-"

"I LIKE TO SHOUT TOO THOR- SIT _DOWN."_ Clint roared, matching the voice of Thor who plopped down, glowering at the screen as Raza walked towards Obadiah.

_"Welcome. Compliments of Tony Stark."_

He explained, pointing to the ruined half of his head.

_"If you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face."_

"Just wait and we'll see if you have one by the end of this." Natasha murmured.

_"You paid us trinkets to kill a prince." _Raza sneers.

_"Show me the weapon."_

_"Come. Leave your guards outside. "_Raza looked, guiding Obadiah into a tent, where a metallic suit lay in ruins.

_"His escape bore unexpected fruit." _

_"So this is how he did it."_

Obadiah sighs, crossing his arms as he circles the metal ruin that created the suit.

_"This is only a first, crude effort. Stark has perfected his design. He has made a masterpiece of death. A man with a dozen of these can rule all of Asia."_

"Wait- all of _Asia?_ That…Why would he say _that?_" Bruce frowned, causing Clint to look at him.

"Well, Asia is nearby."

"But the way he says that- he doesn't say himself, he's…it's almost like he's talking about another person." Bruce blinked. "Never mind."

_ "And you dream of Stark's throne. We have a common enemy."_

Raza sits down, pouring a drink from a flash.

_"If we are still in business, _

_I will give you these designs as a gift. And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers."_

Raza holds up the drink and smiles as a toast.

A loud pitch squeal goes off, and Raza pales, gasping for air as a sonic device is shown, veins popping out as he struggles for breath, not able to move._.._

"Backstabbing Son of a-"Clint murmured.

_"Technology. It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world. Don't worry. It'll only last for 15 minutes. That's the least of your problems."_

Obadiah sighed, walking out of the tent, signaling to his men.

_"Crate up the armor and the rest of it. All right, let's finish up here."_

"He's going to kill the-"Bruce started, drawing silent as the guns go off, causing the room to tense up.

_ "Set up Sector underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked. Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away."_

"And I want you to die right away." Clint mimicked, dodging the bowl.

_Scene change._

Tony's lab, Pepper walks in and Tony's at a computer, typing away.

_"Hey. You busy? You mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." _Tony stated, handing over the drive.

"Smart, if he went in, Obadiah would shoot him down before he could get close. Hopefully Pepper will be a better move." Natasha hummed.

_"And what do you plan to do with_

_this information if I bring it back here?"_

_"Same drill. They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."_

Tony says all of this with a blank face, not looking at Pepper and instead at his computer screens.

"…Anybody else feeling the tension?"

"In here or in the film?"

_ "Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if_

_you're going to start all of this again. There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign."_

Tony's fist clenches, and he says nothing.

"Shit- she's going to pull the card!" Clint yelped, and Natasha said nothing, freezing in place having noticed what Clint had.

_"There is the next mission_

_and nothing else."_

He looks at Pepper, letting her know that he is dead serious.

_"Is that so?"_

_"Well, then, I quit."_

She throws the drive onto the table, turning to walk out.

The team blinks, stunned, then finally, Steve lets out a low whistle.

"…She's coming back, right?" Steve asked, looking at Bruce, who shrugged.

_"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"_

He asks, turning in his chair to look at her, not a single smile on his face.

"I- have you ever seen him like this?" Natasha asked Bruce, who shook his head, watching intensely.

_"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."_

She sighs, turning again.

_"I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do."_

He looks at her desperately, voice cracking slightly as it goes soft, as if he is nearly breaking down.

_"And I know in my heart that it's right."_

His voice catches and he looks away, assuming that she's already gone.

"I- oh my god, I'm having this creepy urge to suddenly hug him…I don't _want _to hug him." Clint squeaked, Thor biting his lip and turning the other way- he had seen that face too many times.

_"You're all I have, too, you know."_

Pepper dryly states, picking up the drive and walking out, Tony wearing a small smile.

_Scene Change._

Pepper is walking through the SI building, noticing that it is empty as she walks towards Tony's office, closing the large doors behind her.

She sets down at the single desk, inserting the flash drive and notices the warning sign for a security breach; it then vanishes as copies of all files pop up, one standing out.

_"Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?" _

"She's going to find out." Bruce muttered.

She looks down; noticing a video pop up in a different language, typing in the translator key as she sees's Tony in Afghanistan.

_"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. - As you can see, Obadiah Stane..."_

_"- Oh, my God."_

"Think I'll be allowed to kill him after this?" Clint hummed and Natasha growled low in her throat.

_"... your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up."_

"…Look up- he's right _the-"_

_"So, what are we going to do about this?"_

Pepper looks up in alarm- Obadiah is in the doorway, walking next to the bar.

"Shit Tasha! How did you know that?" Clint jumped, holding a hand to his heart as she said nothing.

_"I know what you're going through, Pepper. Tony. He always gets the good stuff, doesn't he?"_He sniffs the whiskey before pouring himself a glass.

Obadiah looks over at the screen just after Pepper pulls out the drive, showing him nothing.

"Hide it Lady Pepper." Thor urges quietly.

_"I was so happy when he came home. It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave."_

Pepper says nothing, swallowing thickly.

"I feel like I'm going to need metal help after this." Clint groaned, Steve casting him an outride incredulous look.

"You? Imagine Tony."

_"Breaks my heart."_

_"Well, he's a complicated person."_Pepper returns with a tight smile.

Obadiah takes a drink.

_"He's been through a lot. I think he'll be all right."_

_"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."_

"Get out of there!" Bruce shouts this time, and Steve swallows thickly.

_"Thank you. Thanks." _Pepper offers a small smile.

_"I'd better get back there."_

Pepper manages to sneak the flash drive under a newspaper, taking both.

_"Is that today's paper?"_

"He knows." Natasha emotionlessly states.

Pepper freezes.

_"Yes." _

_"Do you mind?" _

_"- Not at all."_

_"- Puzzle."_

_"Of course."_

_"Take care."_

Pepper walks away, clutching the drive in her hand.

Pepper walks out of the door in a rush.

_"Ms. Potts? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"_

Coulson walks up, and Pepper takes his arm in a hurry.

"Good- he'll keep her safe." Clint mutters, watching as they hurry to get out, and then Obadiah shouting in anger as the Computer had transferred all the files.

_"Nope, right now. Come with me._

_"- Right now?"_

_"- We're going to have it right now.- Yeah, walk with me."_

_"- Okay."_

_"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life. Your office."_

_Scene Change._

Lab people working on the larger Arc Reactor inside the first Stark Industries building.

"Wasn't that the place where Tony showed Obadiah the rector in the first place?" Steve asked, blinking and Bruce gave a curt nod.

"_Yeah, we've been working our best to do it. Absolutely, we're... I'm going to have to call you back."_

The man see's Obadiah walk in, and hangs up, nervously wringing his hands as he approaches.

_"Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..."_

_"- A hiccup?"_

_"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. - So it's..."_

_"- Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller." _

_"Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible."_

_"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"_

"I hate that man _so_ much right now."

"We feel it, Tasha."

The man swallows, afraid by Obadiah's shouting, others turn to look, and the man's voice is considerably quieter as he answers.

_"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark."_

_Scene change._

Tony's living room.

He walks in, about to sit on the couch until he hears a phone go off. He takes it, seeing caller I.D. and sits down, flicking the on button to answer Pepper.

A loud high pitch noise causes him to stiffen and not say anything

"No!" Bruce shouts, other sounds of outrage from the others as Tony gasps_._

_"Tony? Tony, are you there? Hello?"_

He falls back, limp and growing pale, eyes bugging out as he is limp, not able to say anything.

Thor growls.

_"Breathe. Easy, easy. You remember this one, right?"_

Obadiah holds up the sonic device.

"Same one they used on Raza." Steve muttered sourly.

_"It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was'"_

He pulls out a metal device, the perfect size for the arc reactor

"What is that?" Steve asked, alarmed as the others watched, growing horror on their faces.

_"Killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that."_

Tony recoils as his Arc reactor is yanked painfully out of his chest, showing the empty cavern. Tony say's nothing, still paralyzed and unable to stop him from probably dying_._

"No- Nonononono! He'll die without that! You bastard!" Clint screams, this time Natasha didn't hit him with a bowl, instead grabbing his arms and holding him to the couch.

_"You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you? Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that."_

Obadiah observes, turning the Arc Reactor just in front of Tony.

_"This is your legacy."_

They all twitch at the word, touchy since Yinsen…

_"A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could've seen my prototype."_

Obadiah stated, opening a briefcase and setting the Arc Reaction inside it.

_"It's not as...Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Pepper_

_in this."_

"Leave her out of this." Bruce growled, eyes green as he glared.

_"I would have preferred that she lived."_

Obadiah walks out, leaving Tony on the couch.

_Scene Change._

Rhodey on his phone.

_"What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed? Pepper, slow down._

_Why would Obadiah...Okay, where's Tony now?"_

Pepper was rushing down steps, SHIELD agents with her.

_"I don't know. He's not answering his phone. Please go over there_

_and make sure everything's okay. Thank you, Rhodey. I know a shortcut."_

"Where were we during all of this?" Clint muttered and Natasha sighed.

"That mission in Argentina- remember?" She growled, and Clint cursed under his breath.

_Scene Change._

Tony is gasping, trying to make it to the ground, a heartbeat is loud in his ears as he drops. Crawling and pushing aside a rolling device as he is now ghostly pale, breathe stuttering.

"Oh- oh my _god." _Steve whispers, room turning to watch in morbid fascination, wanting to look away but _cant._

He reaches for the Arc inside of the glass case Pepper gave him, but falls short, lying there dying.

"Reach! Reach you damn idiot!"

A hum is heard as Dummy lowers it to his height.

_"Good Boy" _Tony breaths, voice rasp as he lifts it, slamming it onto the ground.

_Scene Change._

Obadiah plugs in Tony's reactor into a prototype, the suit glowing as it loads up…

"…Okay- I _really_ wished we didn't take that mission."

"I wish I wasn't in the ice."

_Scene Change._

Rhodey is walking through the halls, down the hallways.

"_Tony?_ _Tony?_ _Tony? Tony?"_

"Check the lab! When isn't he there!"

_"Tony!"_

Rhodey sees Tony on the ground and rushes over.

_"Tony! You okay?"_

Rhodey rolls over Tony, seeing the Arc glowing in his chest.

"_Where's Pepper?" _Tony groans, grabbing his arm and managing to look drunk with the bloodshot colour of his eyes.

_"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."_

_"That's not going to be enough."_

"They've got Coulson." Clint cursed.

_Scene Change._

Pepper along with several guards are hurrying towards the room.

_"Section 16. Section 16. There it is." _She breathes, flashing a key and again, frowning when it doesn't work.

_"My key's not working. It's not opening the door."_

An unnamed command and a small explosive is passed forward.

_"Oh, wow! What's that? It's, like, a little device? It's, like, a thing that's going to pick the lock?"_

"Explosive." Clint growls.

_"You might want to take a few steps back."_

_The door explodes open._

_Scene Change._

Machines work and Tony is in his suit.

"Why does it look so complicated then?" Steve asks and Bruce smiles slightly.

"He's had more time to make different models- this is the Mark II. He's flying the Mark VII now."

_"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen._ _Not bad, huh? Let's do it."_

Tony looks to Rhodey, completely suited up.

_"You need me to do anything else?"_

_"Keep the skies clear."_

_"Damn!"_

Rhodey looks to the other suits on the wall.

_"Next time, baby."_

_Scene Change._

Pepper and the troops venture inside the lair.

_"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." _Coulson noted, looking at a model on the wall.

_"I thought it'd be bigger."_

Pepper notices snapped wires and follows along as others see computers that have status on them. Pepper looks up, seeing chains move around, she approaches them, seeing eyes glow up and rise high above her.

"Run."

She screams, running out as a huge metal monster chases after her.

"RUN!"

_Scene Change._

Tony is blaring through the sky, looking for Pepper.

_"How do you think the Mark One chest piece is going to hold up?"_

_"The suit's at 48% power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight."_

_"Keep me posted."_

"It's odd how Tony can communicate with Jarvis like that." Bruce sighed.

_"Pepper!"_

Tony calls through a phone.

_- "Tony! Tony, are you okay?"_

_- "I'm fine. How are..."_

_-" Obadiah, he's gone insane!"_

_- "I know. Listen, you'd better get out of there."_

_- "He built a suit."_

The ground cracks, and he rises out of the ground, causing Tony to gasp.

_"Get out of there right now!'_

_"Where do you think you're going?"_

Obadiah laughs, looming over her in a huge silver metallic suit, similar to Tony's but more bulky.

"_Your services are no longer required."_

_" Pepper!"_

"Get him!"

Tony blasts down, slamming Obadiah into the ground. Tony rises and Obadiah spins, grabbing a car with a screaming family.

"There's kids in there!"

_"Stane!"_

_"I love this suit!"_

_" Put them down!"_

_"Collateral damage, Tony."_

_"Divert power to chest RT. Power reduced to 19%."_

A beam blasts Obadiah away, the car lands and the terrified woman floors it, running and slamming into Tony, as he scrambles for a hold.

_"Lady! No, no no no no!" _He yelps, slipping and having the car drive over him.

He groans, getting to his feet as Obadiah grabs a nearby motorcycle, throwing the driver off and hurling it at Tony before grabbing him, slamming him into the ground.

"_For 30 years, I've been holding you up! I built this company from nothing!"_

At each phrase, he flings Tony into the ground.

_"Nothing is going to stand in my way."_

Once again throws Tony onto the ground

_"Least of all you!"_

Obadiah points, a missile appearing and shooting just as Tony fires his repulsors, shooting into the air, using flight as Obadiah looks up.

_"Impressive! You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!"_ Obadiah's suit moves, legs twisting as suddenly, rockets appear and he lifts off, at a much slower pace at first before gaining speed.

_"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly."_

_"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude."_

_"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that..."_

_"I know the math! Do it!"_

_Scene Change._

The air force base, people are looking at the screens in surprise.

_"Sir, you're not going to believe this. That thing is back."_

_"Get me Major Allen. Scramble the jets!"_

_"Not necessary, people. Just a training exercise." _Rhodey warns, and the major swallows before nodding, putting down the phone.

_"Yes, sir."_

_Scene Change_

Tony is flying while Obadiah is following, they get higher and higher, the city lights fading.

_-" Thirteen percent power, sir."_

_- "Climb!"_

_-" Eleven percent."_

_- "Keep going!"_

"Oh god Tony…" Clint groans, and they watch as they get higher, Obadiah gaining.

_-" Seven percent power._

_- Just leave it on the screen! Stop telling me!"_

Obadiah grabs Tony's neck, not noticing the ice that is coating his suit.

_"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!"_

_"Yeah? How'd you solve the icing problem?" _Tony asks, noticing the ice that covers Obadiah.

_"Icing problem?" _

_"Might want to look into it."_

Obadiah plummets as a block of ice, Tony following, flailing as the repulsors seem to not work.

_"Two percent. We are now running on emergency backup power." _He descends further, jets flickering as he takes a fall then slows himself to descend.

_"Potts!"_

_ "Tony! Oh, my God, are you okay?"_

Tony lands on the roof of the Main Reactor, stumbling a few steps.

_"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there."_

Tony knocks off one of his gloves, Obadiah landing behind him. He ducks a punch, throwing out a hand of the glove he just discarded, before being grabbed and squished, suit failing slightly.

"Fight him!"

_"Nice try!"_

_" Weapons status?"_

_" Repulsors offline. Missiles offline." _

_"Flares!"_

A flash of light blinds Obadiah as Tony ducks, leaning against one of the pillars, hiding out of sight.

"_Very clever, Tony." _Obadiah roars.

_ " Potts?"_

_"Tony!"_

_"This isn't working. We're going to have to overload the reactor and blast the roof."_

"No! The backlash energy would override his reactor- he'll kill himself!" Bruce shouted, nearly jumping up to his feet.

_ "Well, how are you going to do that?"_

_"You're going to do it. Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know. You're going to hit the master bypass button. It's going to fry everything up here."_

Pepper nods, seeing the broken glass on everything as she walks through the open doorways, walking towards the sparking reactor.

_"Okay. I'm going in now." _

_"Make sure you wait till I clear the roof. I'll buy you some time." _Tony whispers before turning and jumping on the back of Obadiah. He tugs, yanking a large wire out from his back.

"_This looks important!"_

Obadiah roars, his sight blinded as he throws off Tony, causing the man to scramble as he nearly falls into the skylight- the glass having shattered. Obadiah opens the main compartment, his targeting having broken.

_"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit! You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!" _Obadiah aims and misses several weapons, his targeting system gone and he being a lousy shot.

"_It's ready, Tony! Get off the roof!"_

_"Tony!" _Pepper screams, glass from the weapon's impact raining down on her.

_"How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!"_

He gasps as a missile nearly hits him, causing his grip to loosen.

"_- Pepper!" _He shouts, looking down at the woman far below.

"_And now I'm going to kill you with it! You ripped out my targeting system!"_

_"Time to hit the button!" _He screams, knowing that everything is futile.

"No- Don't hit it!" Bruce shouts.

_"You told me not to!"_

_"Hold still, you little prick!" _More missiles nearly collide with him, causing him to dangle with one arm.

_"- Just do it!"_

_-" You'll die!"_

"…He- he's going to do it." Steve murmured, flinching.

"Tony has a thing for suicidal moves." Natasha noted, eyes narrowed.

_"Push it!"_

Pepper presses the button, and the Arc flares, Pepper screams, running out of the building as electricity travels upwards.

The power rushes up, Tony managing to pull himself up and rolling out of the direct way as Obadiah shouts, electricity frying him and causing his suit to fall down into the core of the Reactor.

"_Tony!" _Pepper screams, voice mirrored by the Avengers.

Fire explodes upwards as Obadiah falls into the main core, shooting high into the sky by where Tony is.

Tony is lying on the ground stiff, not moving an inch. His Arc Reactor fizzling as it faintly tries to stat alit- slowly dying out as the screen moves away.

The Avenger stares.

"What- what just happened?" Steve asks, blinking while Bruce clears his throat.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that he just died." Bruce stated, voice cry and emotionless.

"There's more." Thor states, the others watching as the scene changes.

_Scene Change._

Rhodey is at a podium, talking to the audience.

"_You've all received the official statement of what occurred at Stark Industries last night. There have been unconfirmed reports that a robotic prototype malfunctioned and caused damage to the arc reactor. Fortunately, a member of Tony Stark's personal security staff..." _Rhodey's voice trails out as Tony is inside a tent, Pepper cleaning some of the wounds on his cheek.

_"Iron Man." That's kind of catchy. It's got a nice ring to it." _He shrugs, getting up while Pepper makes his tie.

_ "I mean, it's not technically accurate. The suit's a gold-titanium alloy, but it's kind of evocative,_

_the imagery, anyway." _Tony shrugs, seeing Coulson walk in with papers.

_"Here's your alibi." _He hands the papers over, in which Tony sifts through.

_"Okay."_

_- "You were on your yacht."_

_- "Yeah."_

_"We have port papers that put you in Avalon all night, and sworn statements from 50 of your guests."_

_"See, I was thinking maybe we should say it was just Pepper and me alone on the island." _He smiles, and Pepper smiles as well, working on the small mark on his forehead.

_ "That's what happened."_

_- "All right."_

_"Just read it, word for word."_

Tony looks through the note cards. Frowning as he looks at Coulson.

_"There's nothing about Stane here."_

_"That's being handled. He's on vacation. Small aircraft have such a poor safety record. But what about the whole cover story that it's a bodyguard?"_

Tony looks at Coulson in confusion.

"_He's my... I mean, is that... That's kind of flimsy, don't you think? This isn't my first rodeo, Mr. Stark. Just stick to the official statement, and soon, this will all be behind you. You've got 90 seconds." _He nods, walking out of the room, in which Pepper follows.

_"Agent Coulson?"_

He turns, looking and patiently waiting.

_"I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of your help."_

_"That's what we do. You'll be hearing from us."_

_"From the Strategic Homeland..." _Pepper frowns, trying to remember it all.

_"Just call us S.H.I.E.L.D."_

_"Right."_

Pepper turns, moving back to Tony and fixing his collar as he reads the cars.

"_- Let's get this show on the road."_

_"- You know, it's actually not that bad." _Pepper comments.

_"Even I don't think I'm Iron Man." _Tony adds with a smile.

_" You're not Iron Man."_

_" Am so."_

_- "You're not."_

_ "All right, suit yourself." _Tony shrugs, waiting in silence for a while until he turns, looking at Pepper dead in the eye.

_"You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become." _He added.

"That…that was…" Steve blinked and Clint snickered.

"Oh Tony- I think that's as romantic as he can get." He laughed, everybody finally relaxing after the fight scene.

_"She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more" _He clears his throat. "_crazy about me."_

Pepper smiles, not looking at him in the eye.

_"Tell me you never think about that night." _Tony adds quieter.

_" What night?"_

_"You know."_

_"Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to… get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself? Is that the night you're talking about?"_

Tony gives a little noise in his throat as Pepper smiles.

_"Thought so. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"_

_" Yes, that will be all, Miss Potts."_

_Scene Change._

_"And now, Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions. Thank you." _Rhodey nods, Tony walking out and taking his place at the podium.

"_Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time. There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..." _Tony starts before a reporter cuts him off.

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, - despite the fact that you..."_

_"I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero." _Tony brushes off.

"He's normally better than this." Natasha frowns, causing Steve to shrug.

"Perhaps the Man of Iron is distracted?" Thor offered.

_"I never said you were a superhero."_

_"Didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic."_

Tony sighs, looking at the cards and shifting them.

"Oh- he's going to crack." Clint grinned, wincing as the bowl collided hard with his one arm.

"_I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public."_

_"Just stick to the cards, man." _Rhodey whispers in Tony's ear, causing him to blink/

"_Yeah, okay. Yeah. The truth is…" _He hesitates, eyes scanning over the reporters before his face goes blank.

"And- here is comes." Clint sing-song'ed

"_I am Iron Man."_

"Called it." Clint grinned while the others shook their heads at his antics.

The screen showed credits, but they were moving too fast for one to actually be able to tell what they said.

"So…what? Are we still locked in here, or what? And- oh _shit._ Tony's in his lab." Clint gasped, everybody freezing in their spots as the credits continued.

"…What are we supposed to do no-"

_"Jarvis!"_

Clint jumped, looking at the TV.

"Huh- after credit's scene. Not many of those." Clint blinked, watching as Tony walked through the hallway from the front door, at ease as he entered the main living room, freezing in the entryway.

_"Welcome home, sir."_

Tony watches, seeing some person in his living room, looking out from the long wall of glass panels, looking at the view.

_"I am Iron Man." You think you're the only superhero in the world?"_

"Fury?" Steve blinked in surprise, looking Natasha who shrugged.

_"Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet."_

_"Who the hell are you?" _Tony blinks, standing in his room as the other man turns, walking out into the light.

_"Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."_

The screen goes blank.

They blink, Clint even walking up and hitting a button on the TV. Even the power button refused to work and activate it, until a whirring noise and suddenly the lights flickered.

_"My apologize, I have regained control of the circuitry in this area." _Jarvis announced, causing Bruce to frown and make his way to one of the doors.

"…We can leave? It's done?" Bruce blinked.

_"Correct. Would you like me to contact, Sir? He is currently in the workshop."_

"How long have we been here?" Steve asked, the movie felt like it had been days.

_"I have lost contact for directly 126 minutes."_

"God…" Clint breathed, running a hand through his hair.

"…I think it would be wise to contact the Man of Iron." Thor added, still sitting from his spot on the chair.

All eyes moved to Steve who shifted in his spot, looking unsure.

"I- call him up." Steve sighed, dropping back onto the couch he had been sitting on for the two hours.

The others moved to their respectable spots, waiting and finally the door swung open with a loud bang.

"Is there a reason why Spangles suddenly pulled me awa-" Tony blinked, looking at the sight.

Nobody was talking, nor were they lifting their heads to look at him.

"Um- who died? 'Because I'm really sure I didn't miss something big…Did Fury call? Do we have to go save the world again?" Tony asked, approaching and sinking into the only available chair left.

"Okay, speak. Why do you all look like somebody died, and Legolas, _why,_ does it look like you slammed into a brick wall and got punched by Thor?"

The silence was brutal. Eventually, Tony threw his arms up into the air.

"That's it- if you're not talking I'm leav-"

"We watched a movie." Steve spoke up. Tony blinked, looking at Steve as he lifted a single eyebrow.

"Okay? And _why_ do you guys look like you've witnessed a horrible acid- _oh…_You watched the Justin Bieber Movie, didn't you?" Tony asked, sympathy on his face.

"What? _No-_ " Steve started, blushing as he was cut off by Thor.

"A move appeared, Man of Iron, about your past victory." Thor stated, and Tony blinked.

"A newscast? Can someone just spit it out-"

"A movie appeared and we got forced to watch it. It was about you, Tony." Clint stated, and Tony froze, blinking a few times.

"O-okay? And? You're not giving me anything to work with." Tony huffed, causing Clint to sigh.

"I- It started in Las Vegas, and ended with you telling the world you're Iron Man."

Tony froze.

He didn't blink, he didn't move or say a single word. Clint shifted, feeling guilty as hell before he looked at Tony.

"I-" Tony started, swallowing and looking away at the Coffee table, blinking as suddenly there was a piece of paper, folded in half with his name on it.

"The creepy movie monster strikes again." Clint muttered just as Tony stiffly unfolded the paper, the feeling of was slightly stiffer, more similar to fancy stationary.

_Anthony Stark,_

_I apologize for intruding upon you past, however it was required for acceptance from the team._

_You may not believe me, but you have hacked every file, every documentation found about each of your teammates. You know their secrets, it's time that they know yours._

_I apologize for not allowing you to be present during the screening, however you mental stability would be questioned._

_Nothing past the point of your reveal of the Iron Man has been shown, nor has any reference to a point before your capture._

_I sincerely wish we will be one even ground eventually._

_I feel your pain._

Tony blinked, looking at the elegant font and slight ink smears, before he blinked, grabbing the paper and shoving it into his back pocket, clearing his throat and looking at the others who seemed rather expectant of something.

"Okay then…" He stated with a low sigh, getting up and making his way to the kitchen.

"I'm making a sandwich- anybody want one?" He asked, looking over his shoulder as everyone simply stared.

"No? you sure? Fine- oh, and _nothing leaves this room._"

Clint turned, looking at Natasha and stated rather lowly, but still loud for everyone to hear.

"Did we just break him?"

"Hey! Who took my bowl!" Tony's shout was heard, and instantly Clint pointed to Natasha, who scowled and held up the bowl.

Tony scowled, stalking over and grabbing the bowl. Turning but pausing when looking the other way.

"Clint?" He asked, and said man turned to look.

_BAMM-MMM-MMmmmm_

"_Nobody,_ takes my bowl." Tony glared, getting up and stalking to the kitchen.

Maybe he could get rid of some of the anger he was hiding by stabbing Summer Sausage.

Yes-Sausage would do.

* * *

**Tada! Okay- crappy ending. I'll fix it later.**

**Anyways, i'll post a sequel eventually, but it's going to be the THOR movie, not Iron Man, i've already made a deal with a few people about that.**

**So! Who do you think left the letter? (grin) I bet you you all know anyways...**

**Review~!**

**~Oceanbreeze7**


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